A Sleepover
by CandiiGal
Summary: It's the end of the first school term in Middle School for Rima and Nagihiko. To strengthen relationships and bonds, their teacher have decided to organize a sleepover exchange for each pair that is chosen. Nothing could go wrong, right? Rimahiko
1. A Sleepover!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara, as simple as that.**

**Pairings: Nagihiko X Rima**

**Genre: Romance/Comedy**

**Ratings: K+**

**Summary: It's the end of The Guardians first school term in Middle School and in order to strengthen relationships and bonds, their teacher have decided to organize a sleepover exchange for each pair that is chosen. What could possibly blossom between Rima and Nagihiko if they were to spend three days each at each other's house? Perhaps, something like love?**

**A/N: I'm finally back from my writing-free break; it was fun while it lasted. I thought I would never start writing so thank god that my drawing spree was put to an end due to the lack of inspiration. To tell the truth, I was kind of in a slump lately. Well, at least I'm back to writing for the time being before my inspiration wanders off again. I hope you guys would enjoy reading my first series, A Sleepover, as much as I enjoyed writing this, so sit back and relax or even pour yourself a cup of hot chocolate.**

***Updated on 3-11-2010: Major edition completed, a better character building, a stronger foundation, correction of grammatical errors and more detailed descriptions.**

* * *

**A Sleepover**

_(can it possibly change their lives?)_

A Sleepover?!

Rima rested her head on her palm lazily as she tapped her fingers on her desk with a small scowl written on her face, eyes boring into the blackboard in front of her as she imagined the figure of Nikaidou Yuu, virtually torturing him, poking him with her mind. He was late, again. She let out a small grumble as she rolled her eyes, teeth sinking into her lips, lowering her head, forming a small curtain in front of her hiding the storm that was building inside of her.

Of all days, her teacher had to go ahead and choose to be late on the last day of school.

She sighed, tilting her head towards her side, watching her best friend, Hinamori or what she liked to call her, Himamori Amu, joke around with the former King's Chair, Hotori Tadase who was sitting in the seat in front of her. She gave an inward smile. Though they were no longer Guardians they were still together and most of all, inseparable.

She cocked her head to the other side, studying the boy with long, flowing midnight hair which usually hung loosely around his waist and ochre-colored eyes, who sat beside her. He seemed to be in deep thoughts and was staring into spaces with his shoulders hanging forward and his head bent slightly over. His free hand was clenched up into a tight ball while his head rested lazily on it.

He sighed, feeling around for a pencil as he picked it up, spinning and doing tricks with it like an old pro. He let out another lethargic soft, inaudible sigh as he lowered his head to his empty table where Rhythm and Temari were nowhere to be found. Her golden brows rose at this particular action of his, she'd never thought that the Fujisaki Nagihiko would ever be bored with school. 'Education, as well as books, is important,' she would recall him saying. It was some sort of catchphrase of his which he used time to time to tick her off. Now, if only she had a picture of his bored look in class, she could counter back with his usual teases. The boy tilted his head towards her, eyes widening upon realizing for the first time that she was staring at him and flashed a smile in her direction.

She blushed a light pink, jerking her head back into place, staring at the blank blackboard. Clearing all thoughts of a certain purple-head as she tried to shift her thoughts to her certain clown-chara. She'd wished Kusu-Kusu was here, she would know how to lighten the mood, and unfortunately she was at one of Kiseki's pathetic meetings.

The door slid open, drawing a happy, surprised gasp from everyone. Everybody returned to their designated seats as the teacher walked in.

Nikaidou, for the first time did not fell into the classroom with an avalanche of worksheets or workbooks, he'd just walked in perfectly fine which was totally out of character for him, but since it was the last day of school. Who the heck cared? In his hands lay a flimsy piece of list, standing in front of the class with a big goofy smile that brightened the classroom by a few hundred times, but for some reason the shine from Nikaidou's smile burned right into her.

"Now everyone, before you head off for your summer holidays, I'll have to give you your summer work." he started in her usual preppy, happy tone, still smiling away. "Since this is your first year in Middle School, the school decided to give you a special holiday work to help you fit in with your classmates."

Everyone looked up curiously, absorbing every single word he had said.

"You will be spending three days and three nights at your friend's house respectively and doing an essay of your stay there."

There were cheers of 'hurray' and fists-raising in the air, most probably for the first part of the assignment. Rima turned towards her best friend with a small smile plastered across her face as the pinkette responded with a grin and an optimistic thumbs-up.

"Oh and did I mentioned that it was already pre-selected by us, teachers? Hence, the list." he lifted the piece of paper he was holding in to the air as groans and murmurs spread across the class like wildfire.

Amu's thumb seemed to falter a little but she forced a reassuring smile at her.

"There might still be a chance." she winked at her as Rima returned her wink with a small, hopeful smile.

"Yeah,"

"I'll read out the names that you're going to be paired up with, so please listen up as I'm only going to say it once." announced Nikaidou, giving a small cough of attention as he held up the list to his eye-level and began reading out the names on the list like a mantra and from then on she began to zone out, getting caught up with her wandering thoughts of what she and Amu would do if they were paired up with each other, a gleeful smile tugging the corner of her lips until she heard her name being called out with another she'd never expected to hear.

"Mashiro Rima and Fujisaki Nagihiko."

She looked up at the teacher and blinked once, then twice, her brain unable to process what Nikaidou had just said. Correction, her brain refused to process what Nikaidou had just said. Her jaw literally dropped when Nikaidou merely quirked a quick brow before proceeding on to the next set of names. She turned towards the boy with long, velvet hair sitting beside her in a malicious, menacing manner as he shot her his usual annoying smile and waving at her.

No, this cannot be happening. Repeat, not.

Rima shook her head in disbelief as she raised her hand into the air, catching her teacher's attention.

"Yes, Mashiro-san?"

She pointed to the smiling boy with ochre eyes with a death glare.

"I can't have a sleepover with him." she declared hotly.

"Why is that so, Mashiro-san?"

"He's a boy and my parents would never allow this." she remarked with a sense of finality, folding her arms with a smirk.

"Oh, I'm afraid they will. They have been notified about this sleepover and have agreed to it. I'm sorry Mashiro-san but you'll have to stick with this." smiled the teacher in a sardonic manner that sent chills down her spine.

Her eyes twitched uncontrollably, seething with irritation, she'd never thought she had to resort to this especially in front of f such an audience. Inhaling deeply, she braced herself as every sad thought, bitter remarks anyone had said to her and every scene with her parents quarreling, entered her mind. The familiar burning sensation in her eyes, fogged up the melichrous pools of her eyes as salty wet tears began rolling down her cheeks. She sniffled.

"I'm afraid, Mashiro-san, that crocodile tears would not work on me." Nikaidou said with a mirthful smile.

"How did you know?" she shot a glare at the ever-smiling teacher in front of her, tears ceasing instantly as if it'd never happened before.

"Oh, did I tell you that I'm a drama teacher too?"

Jerk.

"Don't worry, Rima. It's going to be okay at Nagi's house." assured Amu as she flashed the blonde a bright smile, in hopes that it would lighten her mood, much to no avail. She gave a small grumble in response, turning away as she creased her brows, an uptight frown plastered across her rosy lips, obviously annoyed. She'd known better to actually trust Nikaidou, that clown.

"You'll decide among yourselves whose house you'll sleepover at first, as long as I have your essay by the end of the summer holidays, I'm good with it. Class dismissed."

As if on cue, the bell rang and everyone jostled out of their seats hastily before making a beeline for the exit as the noisy, inconsistent chatter resumed again.

Rima sighed to herself in exasperation and was about to get up from her seat when she felt a gentle pat on her shoulder, which sent weird tingles down her spine. She cocked her head towards the offending person and was about to shoot off with her usual rants and insults, but realizing it was only him, she'd merely narrowed her eyes on him, sending the worst of her glares at him, however, he'd still remained unfazed.

"If you want, we could have the sleepover at your place first, if it makes you more comfortable." _He_ said with his usual, cheerful smile which sickened her right to the pits of her stomach, causing all sorts of alien emotions to ooze out of her. Oh, she'd very much wanted to wipe that smile of his. Wrinkling her forehead and narrowing her eyes on him further, she brushed his long fingers away from her.

"Don't touch me, and of course we're having the sleepover at my place first." she scowled darkly at him, grabbing her bag as she stormed out of the classroom, leaving him behind. Sneaking a peek at him before she exited the classroom, she managed to caught that speechless and rather hurt expression written on his face, and in that moment, she couldn't help but feel sorry at how coldly she'd treated him earlier.

_---_

Fujisaki Nagihiko stared down at his hand which was slapped away by a particular, young blonde. He had no idea how long he'd stared at it, he could still feel the iciness of her tone and actions pricking his bare skin. Even though it was only three words, it was still painful to hear those cold words coming from mouth venomously; it was like a dagger to his heart. His sunset; hazel eyes grew a little dark as he clenched his fist with a small frown. Rima and her hurtful words...

There was a small comforting pat on his shoulder as he looked over his shoulder with arched brows, puzzled by the gentleness of it; and as he'd expected, it wasn't her. As much as he'd believed that she would never treat him with such the same ease and tenderness, part of him probably wanted to believe she would have.

"Don't worry; she's just frustrated about it. You know how stubborn she gets sometimes." Amu said with a wink as he forced a smile and stifled a sigh. If it wasn't for Amu to lighten his mood just by a millimetre, what would he do without her? Taking in a deep breath, he re-arranged his features, wiping all signs of weariness and disappointment.

"Of course, you must be rather happy that you're paired up with Hotori-kun." He teased in the usual way he did, his trademark devious grin playing on the ends of his lips as he watched intently at the transition of 'tomato Amu'.

"I-I've got to go now, bye, Nagihiko." She gave him a quick wave before dashing out of the classroom without looking back as he chuckled silently to himself, but as his chuckles died out, the emptiness of the classroom seemed to echo out to him. Unbearable, he had to decide. He'd always hated silence as still and quiet as this, with only his calm breathing for company.

But it was the one conclusion he'd came up with which resonated through thick walls of his mind, like a tape recorder stuck on replay, that he felt utterly defeated: She still disliked him despite everything he had done for her.

He clenched his fist, looking slightly crest-fallen as he fought the urge to slam his fist on his table. No, he wouldn't give up that easily. Breathing in the air of confidence and looking more determined than ever, he zoomed off out of the classroom, hoping to catch a certain blonde on the way out of school.

_~A Sleepover~_

"Ah, Rima-chan, wait up!" called a mellow, smooth which she could clearly recognize from anywhere. It was that voice again, that all-too melodious voice which sometimes could pass of as a girl's. She'd very much wanted to roll her eyes but refrained herself from doing so. Instead, she whipped her head at him with an irritated 'tsk' and proceeded to speed up her pace, in hopes he would have gotten the hint.

But for some apparent reason, she found him appearing right beside her with his bag placed beneath his arm, his usual smile having at the end of his lips as he ran alongside her. She casted him another scowl. Damned her athletic abilities and short legs.

"What?" she demanded, obviously irritated by his megawatt smile aimed directly at her, blinding her with his pearly whites.

"I just wanted to tell you, I'll be coming over to your place on Monday morning for the sleepover."

It took her a minute or two to reply, catching her breath in between pants as she reduced into a fast but brisk walk.

"Whatever, do what you want. I don't care." She took a sharp turn in the corner, hoping to shake him off her tail but he held on his quick, hasty steps beside her.

"Can I walk you home?" His blinding smile still holding firm on his lips and she figured that he could do this whole day and everything depended on her and how long she could take this torture. She furrowed her brows, her lips curling downwards as she shot him her usual, curt reply.

"No."

"Why?" He pressed.

"Just go home." She waved him away.

She groaned exasperatedly, rolling her eyes as she stormed away from him, not saying a word. She could feel his annoying grin burning into the back of her skull. She did another bend around the corner and sulked. No matter what she did, he was right beside her, buzzing around her like a bug. He was impossible and most of all insufferable.

She halted in her steps abruptly as he jerked behind, perturbed by her actions.

"What do you want? And for the last and final time, please stop following me." she exclaimed angrily, nearly shouting but her quiet voice refrained her to do so. Her golden, honey eyes were set ablaze.

The boy with long violet hair merely arched a brow in amusement and fun before crinkling into his big, lively grin that could light up the world if he'd ever wanted to.

"Have you forgotten that I live nearby your apartment and that I take the same route home as you?" He turned towards the forked road in front of them, his smile wavered for a second before vanishing off, and she had to admit that it just didn't feel right without his usual smile of his, leaving a rather wide void in the pits of her stomach. He cocked his head towards her, forcing one last smile at her. "See you on Monday." And turned towards the road on the left, running ahead, leaving her to watch him fade out of view with all that was left of him was his unique boyish scent.

She didn't know why but a small tiny piece of her heart seemed to have flown away with him as she felt the absence of his presence hitting her hard like a brick. She mentally kicked herself as she made her way home on the other road.

Ever since the start of Middle School, she'd managed to convince her parents that she was old enough to walk home by herself. It took a great deal of work and effort to finally have their permission. It was probably then, she had realized that Nagihiko's home was situated nearby hers and that every day they would walk the same route home. It was a daily occurrence that she would never get used to. Repeat, never.

She reached into her pocket, fishing for her key as she lodged it into the key-hole, twisting it with a small, subtle 'click'. She twisted the brass knob, pushing the door opened lightly as she shook off her shoes, placing them by the rack neatly, stepping into her empty house.

She ascended up the stairs to her room silently without switching on the lights, putting her bag down as she flung herself onto her bed with her hair sprawled out like a spider web across the sheets as soon as she'd entered her room. It was only then she allowed herself to let a long deep sigh out of her lips, closing her eyes, enjoying the solitude.

The house was a dead silence, it was so quiet that one could hear the floorboards creak and squeak if they listened close enough. The only sound was probably her own breathing, resonating through the thick walls of her house, amplifying on the emptiness of it. She flashed a quick glance at the clock by her bedside.

When was Kusu-Kusu ever going to return?

She hopped out of bed and using a delicate hand, she lifted the window open with a small gap and drew the curtains open to provide a small entrance for Kusu-Kusu when she returned for the night before making her way down to the living room where she proceeded to her daily routine.

Jumping onto the couch, she switched on the television, channel surfing for her favorite comedy channel for company and at times like this, the sleepover didn't seem much like a bad thing after all. Maybe it could brighten her day a little, she would never know. But maybe, maybe she could forget the hazy feeling she had in her enclosed heart which seemed to thud a sorrowful beat whenever she was alone.

She could think about it and stop being such a pessimist, that maybe the sleepover would go just as well after all.

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**A/N: Constructive Criticism is gladly welcome, please point out any errors in my story, I'd be more than happy to change them. I guess ending stories with italic one-liner is becoming a habit for me and I hope you guys don't mind it. xD Oh, and I would like to give thanks to my beta, TheGift13. Please stay tuned for the next chapter of A Sleepover.**

***2nd**** A/N: Edited pretty much the first chapter. Please enjoy.**


	2. Give Me A Smile!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara; the evil chocolate leprechauns would have eaten me up by then.**

**Pairings: Nagihiko X Rima**

**Ratings: K+**

**A/N: I thank everyone for reviewing for my past chapter. Really, it meant A LOT to me and made my day/week countless of times. I hope you would enjoy the first chapter as much as you enjoy this so please sit back and enjoy the next chapter of ****A Sleepover****.**

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Give Me A Smile!

_Ding dong._

Rima's golden eyes shot up, pulling herself out of bed warily as she dragged her feet down the stairs, yawning away. In a daze, she shuffled her feet across the living room, unlocking the front door to her house. She stared bleary-eyed into the face of a charming, young boy with flowing, long hair as she scratched her head, giving a short and tired yawn. Kusu-Kusu, her Guardian Character floated beside her, lethargically.

"Heya', Kusu-Kusu. Cool house!" remarked an up-beat, cheery voice. Rima switched her attention to the other floating Guardian Character who had his thumbs-up, struggling to stay awake.

"Rima-chan, um, can we come in?" asked the boy in front of her. She gave a quiet nod before stepping aside for him to enter with his baggage. He gave her house a quick scan, smiling away. "Nice house..." he complimented, following her tired, shuffled steps up to her room.

There was a loud thud as Nagihiko's attention immediately fixated itself onto the very petite girl who had collapsed in front of him. He rushed to her side, flipping her over and placing her head into his arms. His hazel eyes shone with concern as he gave her cheek a few light taps. She stirred, turning away, brushing his hands away with knitted brows as she mumbled something unintelligent.

He gave a soft chuckle, realizing she had fallen asleep while Rhythm gave his violet, innocent eyes a few blinks.

Kusu-Kusu who was half-asleep was fully awakened by the sudden, loud thud and was giggling at how her bearer had fallen asleep, floating to Nagihiko's side.

Nagihiko gave a soft sigh with a small smile playing on his lips as he scooped her up with a soft grunt, amazed at the fact that, though how petite she was on the outside, she was quite heavy on the inside. He cocked his head towards Kusu-Kusu with a smile.

"Where's her room?" he asked in a hushed tone, afraid that he might wake the girl up.

"Follow me." Kusu-Kusu replied in her shrilly voice as she floated up the staircase, turning to the door on the right.

He kicked the door open lightly as he placed her gently onto her single bed with a satisfied smirk before rushing back down, to retrieve his baggage back up to her room. After settling his baggage down, he slumped into an arm-chair beside her bed, sighing. He gave her room a quick scan and realized it was rather girly compared to Amu's room. There were several comedians posters pasted up across her wall as he stared in awe at her collection of autographs.

He returned his attention back to Rima. Her golden, caramel locks which usually hung down to her waist was sprawled out like a spider web on the sheets. Her hands were curled up into a tight fist and her face held a peaceful expression he had never seen before. Her eyes were shut tight but Nagihiko knew that what lay beneath were the most beautiful, golden eyes he'd ever seen.

Her usual white, creamy cheeks had a hint of pink to them and with sun rays cascading through the window, gave her a warm glow. She looked like an angel that had descended from heaven.

Nagihiko felt himself caught his breath at the sight before him. He suddenly had the urge to reach out and let his fingers roam the surface of her soft skin but he knew that she wouldn't appreciate that so he kept to himself, clenching his fist tightly, watching her rare peaceful form.

He mentally shook himself, forcing himself to look away with a small blush. He got up from his chair and proceeded down to the kitchen, thinking that she would be hungry when she wakes.

"What do you guys want to eat?" he asked the Guardian Characters floating around him with a kind, cheery smile.

"Pancakes are nice." commented Temari in her quiet, thoughtful voice.

"Yeah, pancakes are nice. Go for it, Nagi!" agreed Rhythm with thumbs-up and goofy grin as Kusu-Kusu merely giggled.

"Pancake it is, then." he said with a final smile, putting on an apron as he looked through the refrigerator for the ingredients. Maybe this would be a great chance to make her smile.

* * *

Rima woke up to the familiar sweet smell of pancakes. Her eyes fluttered open as she gave them a tired rub, getting rid of any trace of sleep left. She'd just had the weirdest dream that she was married to Nagihiko and they had two kids, both named after their Guardian Characters. No, it was definitely not a dream, it was a nightmare instead. She gave a shudder and let out a soft yawn, pushing herself off her bed as her mind began to ponder on who could be making those pancakes.

She left her room, smelling the air for the scent of freshly made pancakes, trailing down the stairs as she made her way to the kitchen. Clattering of plates were heard as she neared her kitchen. She stared wide-eye at the boy with long, velvet hair in front of her who was setting up the table with the Guardian Characters. He looked up at her, smiling, noticing that she had just entered the kitchen.

Was she still in her dream?

"Ah, Rima-chan, you're awake." he said in his usual mellow, smooth voice, a smile plastered across his face. She eyed him suspiciously.

"Are we married?" she asked in a flat tone as Nagihiko let out an amused musical chuckle which warmed her heart for some reason.

"No, unless you wished we were." he responded with a teasing smile. Her eyes widened a little, a small blush rising up to her cheeks.

She shook her head, her hand creeping up to her forehead as she looked up at him with a piercing glare. She was just so sure that he was definitely a projection of her dream.

"Am I dreaming?"

"No, I'm very real." he said with his usual grin, eyes partially closed. "You can touch me if you like."

She took a step forward, lowering her head, letting her bangs cover her eyes as a was building up, deep inside of her.

"Then, what are you doing in _my_ house?" she asked in a menacing tone, giving him the best death glare she could muster, ready to pounce on him and call the police.

"The sleepover, remember?" Her expression softened by an inch, recalling the sleepover as it had slipped out off her mind during the weekends. She shot another glare at him.

"Did I let you in?"

"Yeah, before you knocked out just now."

She bit her lips as she searched through her memory. She might have been half-awake when she let him in. All she could remember was Rhythm saying something about her house being cool. She shook herself and shivered.

"Take a seat for awhile, the pancakes are nearly done."

She took her seat at the table as Nagihiko turned his back on her, flipping the pancakes on the pan while his two Guardian Characters watched beside him on the refrigerator with interest.

Kusu-Kusu floated to her side, humming about pancakes.

"Did I really let him in?" she asked in a hush tone, eyeing Nagihiko as he gave his two Guardian Characters a grin.

Kusu-Kusu gave her usual giggle and nodded as Rima gave a small pout, watching the boy in front of her do the cooking.

There was a warm, fuzzy feeling brewing deep inside of her as she watched Nagihiko flipped the pancakes. Perhaps it was the fact that he was making breakfast for her that she felt a little grateful or maybe it was something else...? No it can't be... can it...?

She let out a small, inaudible sigh.

It had been such a long time since someone had actually made breakfast for her. Her parents who were always busy of work, never had time to make breakfast for her. Every day, she would awake to find herself alone in her house as she went down to the kitchen to look for any plain, ordinary bread.

She was definitely thankful for him.

She let a small smile play on her lips which faded as soon as Nagihiko noticed it. He slipped the pancakes onto a bigger plate, pouring maple syrup over them, putting them in front of her.

"Dig in," he announced with a grin as she took a small piece of pancake and settled it down on her plate, leaning forward, giving it a whiff before poking her fork into it.

She brought her fork closer to her mouth as Nagihiko and the Guardian Characters watched her expectantly with a smile, biting their lips in unison.

Rima's golden eye lit up, stifling a smile which was creeping up to her face. She had to admit that Nagihiko was a rather good chef. She continued digging in, with each bite getting bigger and within seconds, she was done with the pancake.

"How was it?" he asked, with arched brows, his sunset eyes seemed to be dancing under the lightly as Rima suppressing a blush which was rising up to her cheeks.

She turned away indifferently, "It's okay..."

"That's good,"

She stole a peek at the boy with indigo hair and blushed; he was giving her one of those smiles of his. It felt different for some reason; his eyes seemed lighter than usual and had an unreadable sparkle in them.

"Do you want more?"

She gave an awkward nod as she felt his smile grew wider. He pushed a few more pancakes into her plate, watching her finish them up within minutes before starting up on his.

"Thank you," she murmured, hoping he would not catch what she'd just said.

"Hmm? What did you just said?" he asked teasingly, a devious smile playing on his lips, cupping his ears as she blushed a deep magenta, gritting her teeth.

"I said thank you for making me breakfast." she half-screamed, half-said, turning away from his teasing gaze. She got up from her chair, getting ready to proceed up to the bedroom.

"Oh, and did I mention? Cute pajamas you have there."

She felt heat gushing up to her face as her eyes began to twitch uncontrollably, with furrowed brows and gritted teeth, she lunged an object nearest to her— a cushion from the chair— at Nagihiko, missing terribly due to her athletic abilities.

He grinned his teasing smile again as she zoomed up the stairs to her room to change into her everyday clothes, still red in the face.

Why, that Nagihiko... he would pay for embarrassing her like that.

_Just he watch._

_

* * *

_

"Whoa, you've really got many nice cook books, Rima-chan." cried Nagihiko in awe as he flipped through the many pages of Rima's colorful cook books.

Rima lifted her eyes off the television set for a split second, her caramel eyes flared with annoyance for being interrupted in her favorite comedy show.

"Yeah, it's my mother's but she doesn't read them anymore." she replied with a sad edge hanging at the end of her sentence.

There was a long pregnant pause; the only sound was the gags coming from the television. Despite the laughter and gags coming from the television, the atmosphere was somber. There was an intake a breath coming from Nagihiko and a long sigh.

"What do you want to eat for dinner?" he asked in a cheery tone, breaking the silence.

"Anything would be nice." she responded, resuming the liveliness of the living room, turning away, giggling lightly at the gags she found funny and worth laughing at.

Nagihiko gave the clock which hung on the whole a thoughtful look before averting his attention back to the blonde who was lounging on the couch with a light smile. She was dressed in a bright-colored tank top, a pair of shorts and to top it off, a headband she was always seen wearing.

"Are your parents having dinner with us?"

"It depends, just cook their portions."

There was a short pause as Nagihiko went over to the couch, settling himself down beside the petite blonde with a thoughtful-smiling look.

"What?" she asked curtly, sparing a glance at his direction, feeling his stare boring into the side of her skull.

"Oh nothing, I just can't help but feeling that we're sort of a newly-wed couple."

She felt her eye gave a sharp twitch and in a swift, split moment, she raised her foot and gave a hard, unexpected stomp onto his defenseless, vulnerable foot with all her might, watching him writhe in pain as she let out a soft-sounding giggle to herself.

"Rima-chan..." she heard him bemoaned between gritted teeth as he held his poor, currently-bruised foot in his hand for further inspection.

"Serve you right," she responded in her usual quiet tone which held a mocking edge, smiling lightly, satisfied of her work beside her. She directed a glance at him, realizing that he was still staring at her with those partially clenched orange-brown eyes of his despite his throbbing foot.

He forced a painful smile.

She gave a frown.

She didn't understand how he could still muster a smile despite the pain of his toe.

"You know..." he started softly with a shaky voice, catching his breath, breathing in deeply as he tried desperately to forget the pain in his foot. "You looked really cute when you smile, you should smile more often." he grinned, hugging his foot as Rima felt a blush making its way to her cheeks.

She stomped her heel onto his other untouched foot as he let out another yelp of pain, flickering a painful glance at her. She got up abruptly, her nose plucked up in the air as her lips curled into an un-dainty frown.

"What now?" he asked in an unsteady tone, sucking in a deep breath, hugging both feet from any more harm.

She gave him a look of disdain and smirked, "Have fun," and climbed up the stairs to her room, leaving the poor boy with two bruised feet alone on the couch.

* * *

Nagihiko gave a sigh, leaning his head back onto the couch. Fifteen long minutes had just passed and the pain in his feet had more or less subsided. He closed his eyes, drowning himself in the deafening silence of the house as his mind wandered to what the petite blonde was doing in her room.

The many small smiles of hers flashed through his mind as he felt a smile tugging on his lips. Maybe he shouldn't have said that. He lips parted for another sigh but gave a small smile. At least he managed to make her smile... but it didn't felt as fulfilling as he thought he would feel. Call him greedy or anything but it did not felt enough. He wanted to see more than a smile from her.

He wanted to see her laugh and smile like she usually did with Amu. He wanted to see the spark she always had with Amu. Sometimes, he just wished he was Amu just so he could hear those musical laughter and smiles that could brighten his day by a few hundred times from her.

If only he could stop thinking of her, it would have made things a wee lot easier for him.

_A way __lot easier._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Once again, constructive criticism is gladly welcome. I have no idea when am I going to feel sick and tired of saying that line for every fanfic I write. I really hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I loved writing this. It just gets more fun. Anyway, please stay tune to the next chapter of ****A Sleepover, ****I'll be updating every week so... yeah, please stay tune.****  
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	3. Where's The Mattress?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara but I might own them in Candy Land.**

**Pairings: Rima X Nagihiko**

**Ratings: T**

**A/N: I'm really grateful for everyone who supported me and this story. Really. I'm really thankful. I wrote this with a swollen eye (don't ask) so I'm terribly sorry for any glaring mistakes in this story but if you spot any, please tell me and I apologize for this short chapter, partially due to my swollen eye as I can't see very well. I'm starting to regret eating too much candy bars... -shudders- Anyway, please seat back and relax for the next chapter of ****A Sleepover.**

* * *

Where's The Mattress?

Rima sat at the dining table, poking her Mac' and Cheese with a fork, uneasiness was flooding through her veins as the atmosphere in front of her was saturnine and somber. All the Guardian Characters were nowhere to be seen even Nagihiko who was usually calm about things was actually feeling awkward.

He had looked up at the clock which was hung on wall for the millionth time before sparing a glance at everyone's food-filled plates nervously.

Rima leaned in to take a bite; the western food which Nagihiko made seemed to have ended up as a waste as the duo found it hard to swallow it down.

She peeked a glance at her parents who sat before her. She could feel the crackle of their glare boring into each other's skull when one was not looking. The vein in Rima mother's temple gave a noticeable twitch as she ate calmly at the dining table but her twitches gave her away.

As for Rima's father, he tightened his clutch on the spoon till his knuckles went white; his brows were knitted into straight lines, turning away from his wife as he ate calmly like his wife at the dining table. Though as 'calm' as they looked the dark aura they were giving off were intense and it was pretty obvious that they were trying to stop themselves for screaming their head off at one another.

Rima figured that this was probably another good thing about the sleepover.

"Pass me the salt, dear," said her mother in a mellow, soothing voice as she pondered on what would be the most appropriate way of calling her husband.

Mr. Mashiro gave a small, irritated sigh as he slid the bottle of salt roughly to his wife and muttered, "There you go... honey," There was a 'thud' coming from beneath the table as there was short, sharp intake of breath coming from Rima's father as he shot a death glare at his wife in which she responded by directing a gaze at Nagihiko who sweat-dropped. Mr. Mashiro sighed.

"Thank you, dear," she gave a mirthful smile.

"You're welcome..." A louder 'thud' resonated from underneath the table as the plates on the table gave a small hop. Mr. Mashiro gave a small wince, shooting a death glare at Mrs. Mashiro as she glared back at him, directing another glance at Nagihiko before looking back at him mouthing the word 'guest'.

Rima shook her head and let out a sigh, getting up from the dining table abruptly, successfully drawing everyone's attention to her.

"I'm full," she muttered in a soft dejected tone as she stormed up to her bedroom without another word.

Nagihiko stared at the couple in front of him nervously; beads of perspiration were forming on his forehead as they began sending each other death glares.

He gulped.

"Thank you for the meal," he said in an equally soft tone before dashing up the stairs to Rima's room, slamming the door before him as he took a deep sigh of relief. "Are your parents always like this?" he asked, panting, bringing his hand to his forehead as he gave his head a light shake.

His eyes fell onto the blonde who was lying flat on her stomach on her pink-ish single bed, reading her gag comic with Kusu-Kusu sitting beside her, giggling alongside with her. She was in a yellow, frilly-looking night gown and for once, she was not wearing her headband. She looked up from her gag comic, her golden eyes sparkled under the light as a small smile lingered on her lips but as soon as her eyes met his, they all faded in a split second. Nagihiko couldn't help but felt himself die a little inside.

"Nope," She lowered her head upon the gag comic with no traces of any spark or glitter in her eyes, much less, a smile. Nagihiko arched a violet brow. "We never eat dinner together and every time they see each other, they'll just fire it off one way or the other. Today, because of you, they'd probably decided to bring their fights to a minimum."

Nagihiko observed Rima as her eyes grew darker, talking about her parents as her lips curled downwards into a small frown.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know-" He started but was cut off by her.

"You don't have to, you've done nothing wrong. I should be thankful to you instead." she said in a harsh tone, slamming her gag comic shut, turning away from his gaze. "If it wasn't for this sleepover, I would have been still caught up in that living nightmare." muttered inaudibly that Nagihiko had to strain his ears to catch the words she spoke.

He felt himself gave a smile but it soon faded as a loud crash, followed by a blood-curling scream sounded from the floor below.

Rima let out a sigh, shaking her head as she re-opened to a random page of her gag comic.

"Does this happen frequently?" asked Nagihiko as he sat himself next to her, holding up a hand, hesitating to touch her. He never knew she had such a screwed-up family. He put down his hand at the last moment as he knew she would just slap it away like always. "How long will it last?"

"For today, I really don't know." She lowered her head, forming a golden curtain in front of her. Her head shot up as the shoutings turned to silence and everything seemed to stop, her mouth parted lightly.

"They stopped," Nagihiko turned towards her with a smile and could have sworn she gave a small blush. "I'm going to go change," Rima rolled her eyes as Nagihiko dashed out of the room.

* * *

"Um, Rima-chan, we've got a problem."

Rima looked up from her sheets which she was tucked securely in with an irritated glare, "What?" She was about to get herself some shut-eye until a certain somebody interrupted her, like always. She groaned inwardly.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?"

Her tired eyes lit open, awake and alert she shot up like a spring, her golden eyes scanning her surrounding hungrily.

Oh crap. She'd totally forgotten to buy the mattress for the sleepover.

She slapped herself on her forehead for her mistake, letting out a sigh and rolled her eyes before falling back carelessly onto her comfy bed.

"Sleep on the floor or something."

"Don't you have a mattress, or anything at all?" he asked, slightly baffled at the thought of sleeping on the cold hard floor.

"Nope, the floor is your only option."

She turned her back on the boy as she fidgeted with the sheets, making it more comfortable enough for her.

There was a soft sigh, almost inaudible and then came the shuffling of sheets next to her. She looked over her shoulder, wondering what all the hubbub was; realizing that Nagihiko was climbing into her bed, she proceeded pushing him down the bed, kicking and tossing.

"What are you doing?" she half-shrieked, half-said as he merely gave her a smile.

"Getting into your bed." he stated bluntly, forcing himself under the sheets despite her kicks and shovings but he was unmoved like a statue. Damn her short legs and athletic abilities again.

"You're not getting into my bed, get off!" she pulled back her legs, lunging them at him as she gave him the best kick she could muster.

He stumbled a little.

She smirked as she used this chance, shoving and pushing with all her might, moving him by a mere centimeter.

"It's your fault for not having a mattress." he argued, looking over his shoulder which was facing a pouting blonde.

"Deal with it, you're not that fat to share a bed with me." he said with a smirk, turning his back on her.

She let out one final groan of displeasure and crossed her arms tightly against her chest, furrowing her brows with her lips curling into a downwards frown as Nagihiko stretched an arm out, pushing the small button of the lamp which was placed on the shelf next to him, dispatching a sea of darkness in the room.

She turned to her side in the fetal position so that her back was facing the boy, that she did not need to smell the strong scent of cherry blossom which usually lingered around the boy and that she did not need to see the stupid smile he usually wore which sent a oozy feeling down to the pits of her stomach.

Her mind idly wondered if he was asleep yet, as she peeked over her shoulder. The outline of his back was clear despite the darkness which surrounded them like a veil. For some reason she had the sudden urge to wrap her hands around his back which seemed really alluring all of a sudden. She reached out a hand to touch him but mentally shook herself as she brought her hand back to her side, curled up into a fist.

She bit hard on her lips, his scent was dominating her mind and all that she could think of was that he smelt nice. She clamped her hands hard onto her head as she slammed them together onto her head. What in the world was happening to her?

She took another peek at Nagihiko, his long silky hair was cascaded down to his waist like a girl seemed real silky and soft under the soft moonlight which was shining through the window. She reached out her hand, wanting to touch his hair this time but managed to stop herself before she could do anything stupid.

That's it, she was officially crazy.

She clenched her eyes together and stopped biting her lips, taking in deep breaths, calming her furiously beating heart but to no avail, the scent of Nagihiko was way too overpowering.

She groaned inwardly.

When she closed her eyes, all she smelled was his nice, strong scent of cherry blossom in the morning and when she opened her eyes, the urge to turn around and touch him was there.

She parted her lips for an inaudible sigh. One last time and if this doesn't work, she was going to sleep-out in the living room before she loses her sanity.

Boy was this going to be a very long night.

* * *

Nagihiko felt a soft tap on his shoulder and looked over his shoulder, finding the small petite blonde wrapping her arms around his back as she placed rested her head on his shoulder. The strong scent of raspberries was flooding through his veins as it took every muscle of his not to lean forward, swooping a quick kiss on her lips.

He heard her mumbled something unintelligent, realizing she was fast asleep and smiled lightly, cupping his bigger hand over her smaller one.

At least now he did not need to hold onto his urges to touch her as it was being completed by the blonde herself but the scent, god, was it suffocating. He wanted so much to give in and just bend down, placing his lips over hers.

He had spent nearly the whole night, folding his arms and telling himself not to turn around and be succumbed into the thought of holding her tightly in his arms but since that was already done; it didn't stop his heart pounding loudly against his chest.

He turned around, his back no longer facing Rima which was holding on to him tightly as he hugged her back, pressing his lips against her forehead.

There, the deed was done. As long as he did not go for her lips, everything should be okay. The urges and everything should fade away about... now.

Nagihiko mentally shook himself, why wasn't it going away? Must he really kiss her full on the lips for the urges to go away? God, he was being such a pervert like Auto.

He calmed himself down with deep breaths, _'Think, what did the books said about this? What? Please remember...'_

He let the contents of every book he read about teenage raging hormones flood his mind as beads of perspiration formed on his forehead despite the fact that the air condition was switched on.

He tried sliding his hand out of grasp to wipe his sweat but instead of loosening her hold on him, she held onto tighter to him, making him blush a deep crimson as he tried to turn away from her, disallowing the strong scent of Rima from getting into him._ 'Second thought, just think of the sleep methods. Ah, yes, sleeping methods.'_

With that he squeezed his eyes shut, gulping in deep breaths of air hoping it could calm his nerves down but it seemed to make matters even worse as he started regretting ever to share the same bed as her. It wasn't as comforting as he thought it was.

He bit his lips. He had to go through this night without letting anything stupid happen.

He had to or Rima would never forgive him.

_Ever._

* * *

**A/N: Constructive criticisms are gladly welcome. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I loved writing this. Day One of the sleepover at Rima's house is finally completed. Yay! We're left with two more days at Rima's place and three days at Nagihiko's. Please stay tune for the next chapter of A Sleepover.**


	4. Don't Cry Over Burnt Food

**Disclaimers: I do not own Shugo Chara; well, maybe I do in Candy Land.  
**

**Pairings: Nagihiko X Rima**

**Ratings: T**

**A/N: First of all. Thank you, thank you, and thank you so much for those who reviewed for my previous chapters. Thank you so much, I have no idea how am I suppose to show my appreciation. I guess you can probably tell that I'm in a rather good mood, yeah, that's probably 'cause I passed my piano exam! WOOTS! I thought I would have failed -sighs-. Seriously. I broke down in one of my pieces which never happened before. It's really a miracle that I passed, really. Thank god, all the stress and hard work paid off, I'm glad that was finally over. Now back to the story, I hope you would enjoy reading it so sit back and relax. **

* * *

Don't Cry Over Burnt Food

The sun rays shone through the windows and into the small gaps of Nagihiko's eye lids as he cringed in response, turning away. The strong scent of fresh raspberries filled his lungs as he sighed in satisfaction. He just loved the scent of raspberries; it gave him such a soothing feeling with its sweet fragrance hanging in the air. If only he could awake to the smell of raspberries every day, that would be nice.

He snuggled against the warmth beside him, wrapping his arms around the small object as he sighed peacefully to himself. This was probably how bliss felt...

Wait, warmth? And since when did he ever start loving raspberries?

His ochre eyes shot open, glancing down at whatever the warm object was, hoping it was not what he thought it was and found himself staring into a flawless, porcelain face of none other than Mashiro Rima. He flushed a deep shade of crimson.

Their arms were wrapped around each other and his fingers were tangled up with her golden, caramel locks, their legs were not freed either.

Oh crap, what in hell's name did he do last night? He didn't do anything inappropriate, right?

He searched his memories but they remained blurry and hazy, he couldn't remember anything other than pinning his urges down and giving her a soft kiss on her forehead.

And speaking of urges...

Now since it was the morning and with sunlight streaming in, he had the full view of her pink, alluring lips. He bit his lips, hard, forcing himself to look away, turning bright red.

"Rima-chan, wake up." he whispered harshly, his eyes averted from her face as he let out a cough.

Weird, if he wanted to wake her up, he could have just shout, but staring into her fragile-looking face, he couldn't find the power to muster a shout.

"Nagi..." she mumbled softy, nearly inaudible but he clearly heard what she'd just said.

He felt his blood freeze.

Did she just say his name in her sleep?

"Nagi..." she mumbled, a little louder this time, her delicate brows creasing as Nagihiko watched with amusement. Aw, how sweet, she was dreaming of him. He smiled lightly.

"Nagi," she spoke in her usual soft, quiet voice, furrowing her brows but her eyes remained shut tight, "switch off the damned light already."

He felt his smile drooped as he sweat-dropped. Was she even awake? His question was soon answered as Rima retorted angrily, her eyes still squeezed shut.

"And what are the kids doing in our room?"

His smile found its way back to his lips once again as he let out a soft, amused chuckle, careful not to awake her from her dream. He couldn't help but smile a little wider at the way she sleep-talked. He felt a sudden burst of happiness flowing through his veins at the thought of her having a dream that they were married and had kids but his attention reverted to the mess they were in.

He wiggled his fingers carefully, sliding them out of Rima's soft, golden curls which very much resemble those of a princess. He lifted her gently, freeing his left arm which was crushed beneath her seemingly light body.

He flexed his left hand, trying to get the numbness out of his veins before untangling their legs, heaving a sigh of relief for getting out of that messy ordeal.

He pushed himself off the bed, his bare feet touched the cold hardwood floors of her house as he let out a small shiver, realizing the air-condition was still switched on. He turned towards the petite girl and noticed that the sheets and covers were everywhere. He sighed, smiling, as he pulled up the sheets to cover her petite, fetal-like position before leaving the room.

* * *

Rima fluttered her eyes open; it was that stupid dream/nightmare again. She scowled, sitting up in the bed. His scent still lingered in the air— the smell of fresh cherry blossom mixed with the summer air. She gave a shudder, falling back onto the bed, bringing the sheets closely to her chest as she stole peek at the clock. It was still early, there was still time. She closed her eyes, letting a small yawn escape her lips, waiting for the sleep to hit her again.

There was a faint smell of cooked salmon.

She perked up her nose, wrinkling it as her stomach let out a loud rumble.

Her lips fell into what seemed like a frown as she scanned the room, realizing for the first time the absence of _his_ presence. She figured he was probably making breakfast as per usual and decided to get up.

She pushed the sheets aside, hopping onto the hardwood floor as she switched off the air-conditioning, exiting her room, feeling the warm air brushing against her cold skin.

Yes, she could smell it now, the fragrance of salmon being cooked as she descended down the steps. She let out a yawn, rubbing her tired, bleary eyes.

Her foot missed a step.

She widened her eyes to that of saucepans as she found herself falling head first onto the floor. She did what everyone would have done by bringing her hands in front of her, trying to break her fall as she tumbled down the last few steps of the staircase.

There was a loud thud and soon came the searing pain of the fall.

She looked down onto her wounds, wincing slightly. Her left knee which received the impact first was grazed and slightly cut by the steps and the area between her knee and ankle was slightly bruised with a few small visible cuts with droplets of blood oozing out; whereas her other knee remained pretty much unharmed despite the few bruises which was showing up on her skin.

She brought her left elbow into view, sucking in a considerable amount of air as she bit her lips. It was somehow in the same condition of her left knee, except that the cut was larger.

"Rima-chan!" a feminine, mellow voice sounded around the corner and soon Nagihiko was by her side, tending to her wounds. He was in a yellow apron, beads of perspiration was trickling down his chin "You're bleeding!" He tilted his head at her.

He looked up at her; his ochre-like eyes filled with consideration with a spark she couldn't figure out.

She watched silently as he bit his lips, furrowing his brows as he cradled her elbow gently before turning away, his eyes shut tight with his brows knitted together, cringing at the sight of the cut.

"Where do you keep the first-aid kit?" he asked, his sunset eyes had a small fire in them and she felt herself getting drawn in by him, blushing slightly.

"First shelf to the right in the kitchen." Without another word, he dashed into the kitchen and soon returned with a first-aid kit in hand.

He sat her down onto the steps of the staircase, starting on her legs first, turning to her with pain-filled eyes.

"This might hurt a little. Bear with it for awhile." he unscrewed the cap of the antiseptic cream with a soft, sigh as he applied the cream on her knee.

She sucked in a deep breath, wincing as she chewed on her lips, digging her nails into her palms as she struggled with the urge to not move her legs.

After a few minutes of getting used to the biting pain of the antiseptic entering her wound, her amber, honey eyes began to refocus on the boy who was kneeling on one knee, in front of her.

His serious, ochre eyes was filled with pain as he tended to her wounds, cringing ever so lightly every time he dabbed the cloth against her wounds. His winsome smile was nowhere to be seen but replaced with a small sad frown.

She stifled a smile which was tugging at her lips. She could tell that he was genuinely worried for her and for some reason; she was glad that he actually cared for her.

She continued watching as he wrapped her wounds with a bandage before looking up at her with a forced, painful smile.

"Feeling better?" she felt herself blush slightly as she averted her eyes from his gaze.

"Maybe," she pouted stubbornly as a soft, amused chuckle was heard from him.

He did the same for her elbow, jumping a little as her wound made contact with the antiseptic

"Does this happen frequently?" he asked wrapping up the cut on her elbow.

"Not really," she admitted softly, blushing ever so slightly as a teasing smile which she recognized played on his lips but he did not say anything. "What?" she asked rather hotly, her golden, aurulent eyes narrowing on the boy.

"Oh, nothing." he claimed, still smiling that teasing smile of his which did not failed to tick her off.

"Tell me," she insisted impatiently, pouting.

"And risk getting my toes amputated by you? I don't think so." he smirked to himself, smiling at her.

She opened her mouth to retort to his statement but was cut off by the dark, grey smoke which was rising out of the kitchen.

She wrinkled her nose at the smell of burnt food.

"Are you cooking something?" she asked as Nagihiko turned towards the kitchen, his eyes shot up.

"Oh crap, the salmon!" Without another word, he disappeared into the kitchen.

And that was how they probably ended up with traditional and plain rice balls for breakfast that day.

Rima stared at the rice balls with an irritated glare. Did she mention that she hated rice balls for the particular reason that they were plain and never failed to choke her on many occasions?

"Can't you whip anything up other than this?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"I could have but all I find in your fridge was a piece of salmon which was burnt to crisp and the ingredients for a rather plain rice ball." he stated rather bluntly. "You really need to re-stock your fridge. If you like, you could accompany me later for grocery shopping."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes, biting into the plain, sticky rice ball.

* * *

"Do you like teriyaki chicken, Rima-chan?" asked Nagihiko as he pushed the trolley, looking through the shelves and shelves of food, waiting for something to catch his eye.

"I'm okay with that," she simply replied, looking rather indifferent as she tailed behind the boy with long flowing violet, midnight hair which cascaded down to his waist.

"Okay... do you like Western?" He pushed some teriyaki chicken into the trolley as his sunset eyes roamed the shelves of the supermarket.

"Somewhere in the middle," she answered, looking blankly ahead, watching him shove food from the aisle into the trolley.

"I'll take that as a yes. You like pancakes right?"

"Yeah," she nodded with a small smile plastered across her face but quickly wiped it off before he took note of it.

"Great, could you get the flour for me? Thanks a lot, Rima-chan." She sighed, letting a small frown show on her face as she let out a small grumble before saying a small 'fine', storming off to the designated aisle.

She scanned the shelves of the dairy aisle with her golden aurulent eyes. Her honey, caramel eyes lit up as she spotted the bright packaging of the flour but it soon darkened upon realization that it was on the highest shelf of the aisle.

She creased her brows, scowling as her hands were clenched tightly into a tight ball, glaring up at the bag of flour. At times like this, she hated being short. She glanced around nervously. Where was Kusu-Kusu when you needed her the most?

She squeezed her eyes shut with deep sigh, a vein throbbing in her temple as she lowered her head about to concede defeat to the battle of her height, a dark aura enveloping her small petite body. A familiar face flashed across her mind as she glowered at the packet of flour, her eyes set ablaze with a newly-lit fire burning brightly in them. She wouldn't lose to him. She would show Nagihiko that she was capable of doing such a light task of getting stupid flour.

She reached out her arm, standing on tip-toes as she tried reaching the pancake flour.

Nearly there, she hopped a little, giving her small frame a small boost as she felt her fingers brushed against the orange-ish cover of the flour. She let a small smile crossed her face in triumph until an arm reached out to the packet of flour which she had been trying to get for the past few minutes with much difficulty.

She glared a murderous glare at the person who had 'stole' the flour from her but it soon subsided into a blank, puzzled stare.

"Here, you have been trying to get this right?" The boy held out his hand, his fingers tightly wrapped around the flour, offering it to her with a smile.

He had short, clipped blonde, sandy hair and dark onyx eyes which probably killed his image of a charming young lad. He towered a few inches above her, a friendly smile painted across his face.

She grabbed hold of the flour, lowering her head, trying to conceal the blush which was spread across her cheeks evenly. "Thank you," she said meekly, looking up at him, noticing the foreign features the boy had which did not seem much like a typical Japanese but who was she to say when she had blonde hair herself.

"I'm rather new here, I just moved here from America not long ago." the boy explained, noticing her stare and grinned. He definitely had the essence of a potential playboy, Rima decided. "You know, it would be a pleasure for a young lady like you to show me around town?" he asked, flashing a dazzling smile.

Yup, he was definitely hitting on her.

She sighed inwardly, nibbling on her lips nervously as her fingers fidgeted around the plastic packaging of the flour she was holding on to. She was about to decline his offer politely until a familiar voice sounded beside her.

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything but she's with me."

Nagihiko had a polite, gentle smile on but his eyes said otherwise. It held a tinge of annoyance and hint of something else. Was that jealousy in them? Rima wasn't so sure, as soon as she took note of it, it faded away. Maybe it was the lighting...

She felt herself release a breath which she had been unconsciously holding.

The contact of their skin sent tingles down her spine as Nagihiko held her by her hand causing her to flush crimson. With the same smile on, he dragged her away from the stranger, pulling her close to him as he led her to the trolley and groceries which stood in a nearby aisle. Her heart pounded loudly against her chest as she took in deep breaths, trying to calm her pounding heart.

"Have you gotten the flour yet?" asked Nagihiko with slight annoyance lingering in his voice. He seemed totally oblivious to the fact that their fingers were still intertwined together as he looked through the shelves of the many canned-foods.

"Na-Nagihiko..." she stumbled, still red as a tomato as she shifted her fingers which were clasped tightly with his larger hand. She was slightly amazed by how soft and silky it was.

He turned his attention on her, quirking his brows.

"Um... our hands..."

Now it was his turn to turn bright red. Upon realization he immediately released her hand from his grasp, it happened so quick that one would have thought that their hands were on fire. Nagihiko turned away from her gaze, carefully not meeting her eyes as he busied himself by looking through, reading the small tiny words imprinted on the can food.

_Could the day get any more awkward?_

* * *

**A/N: Keep the constructive criticism rolling, really appreciate it. Spot any mistakes? Leave me a PM or a review and I'll try to change it asap. I know the ending is quite abrupt so I apologize, I didn't really want to go through the whole shopping ordeal 'cause it kind of bore me out a little. Fun fact for this chapter, frankly speaking, the part where Rima's fell down the staircase was actually based on my fall at my friend's place. It was my first time in a landed house (I live in an apartment) and I wasn't really used to the steep staircase and such. When I was climbing down the stairs in a rush, I kinda' missed a step or two and just tumbled down the other few steps till I reached the ground. That particular fall also made be lose a bet against my father. Yes, if you haven't noticed by now, I'm a -sighs- klutz. Well anyway, I hope you would stay tune for the next chapter of ****A Sleepover****.**


	5. These Awkward Feelings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara; may the evil chocolate elves bring me away if I ever do.**

**Ratings: T**

**Pairings: Nagihiko X Rima**

**A/N: First things first, I'd seriously want to thank those who'd kindly taken their time to review. Thank you so much, I'd never thought I would be getting that much reviews. Please sit back and enjoy ****A Sleepover.**

* * *

These Awkward Feelings

It was the second night of the sleepover; the night felt warmer than any other ordinary nights or was it the fact that _she _was right beside him, sharing the same bed together? Nagihiko lay, bright awake, his hazel, sunset eyes twinkled in the dark as he deliberately took in big gulps of air to sooth his pounding heart.

He stole a glance at the digital clock which was placed on the small shelf next to the bed for the umpteenth time as he let a sigh escape his lips. It was two in the morning and he just couldn't fall asleep.

He sighed once more, taking a peek over his shoulders at the sleeping young blonde who had her back facing him and felt his heart-strings gave a sudden jerk as he flushed deep red. Maybe it would have been better if he'd just slept out in the living room; it would be a win-win situation.

If he slept out in the living room, Rima wouldn't grumble at him and he could finally have his night's rest away from all the heart pounding and urges which came by sleeping here. But it would be awkward for Rima's parents to find their guest sleeping in the living room and worse still, she might get told off by them.

Alright, fine, maybe it wasn't a win-win situation after all.

He squeezed his tired eyes shut, letting out another lethargic sigh. _Think Nagihiko... Think sheep and fall asleep already._

He groaned inwardly, flipping over to his other side, facing the back of none other than Mashiro Rima. He balled up his fists, his nails dug deep into his palm as he willed himself not to lay one finger on her. He gulped; maybe it was better if he turned the other way...

Nagihiko was in the position to tilt his body to the other side until he heard a loud, unmistakable sound of a gasp coming from the girl beside him.

He froze, jerking his head back at her, watching her intently with his ochre-colored eyes.

She shuddered ever so slightly and soon came the soft sound of whimpering, then the thing that made his heart felt pangs of pain— soft sobbing— for he knew that this time round, it wasn't any fake cry.

He stood rooted in his position with widened eyes, his mouth hung slightly apart as he chewed on his bottom lip. She was crying. His corner of his lips began to droop into what seemed like a frown as he lowered his eyes onto her, her shoulders jerking every few second intervals as her soft sobs bounced off the walls of the room.

His heart gave a tight squeeze as he lifted a shaky hand, hesitating to touch her. Would she be mad at him for being nosey? Would she slap his hand away like always? _Would_ she cry into his chest? Well, all he knew was that he needed to take that chance.

He clenched his fingers, took in a deep breath, brimming with confidence and hope more than ever and wrapped his arms around her small, fragile waist, burying his face into her golden curls which smelt a lot like raspberries. She let out a short sharp gasp but didn't push him away; instead she just lay in her fetal position, sobbing to herself.

"Hush... hush... everything's going to be okay..." he whispered softly as he rocked her to and fro. He felt his throat go a little dry. "It's going to be alright... It's just a scary nightmare..." He flipped her over as she cried into his chest; he could feel her tears imprinting itself into his pajamas. He held her tighter, pulling her closer into his chest as she sobbed a little louder.

He rocked her like a child while she cried her heart out into his semi-toned chest as he continued to comfort her with his gentle words and pats.

They stood in this position for awhile till her sobs turned into mere sniffles. He patted her lightly on her back, trying to soothe the after-effects from crying too long as he forced a small smile, knowing quite well that she couldn't see it due to the darkness which surrounded them in the night.

Giving her one last pat, he loosened his arms around her at the absence of sniffles despite her uneven breathing for he knew; she wouldn't appreciate it if he held her any longer. He was about to pull himself away and flipped himself over to the other side until a small pair of arms held him tightly. He widened his eyes, slightly confused by her actions.

"Don't... leave me..." she mumbled in a tiny voice, he felt her lowering her head as he let out a small smile, wrapping his arms around her once more.

"I would never," he said in firm tone with the same gentleness he always had with a smile lingering on his lips and in due time, the duo found themselves ascending into a deep slumber in each other arms.

* * *

Rima sat at the dining table, waiting for breakfast to be served, a scowl painted across her face. Her head was resting on her palm with her shoulders hanging slightly over as she stole a quick glance the back of a certain long-haired boy who was doing the cooking with his two charas floating beside him and turned away.

She scanned her environment, her eyes falling onto everything except onto the back of the boy which seemed to be calling out to her

She flushed, the memory of the night before replayed in her mind.

Curse that nightmare of hers, but who was she to blame? It was so vivid, the shoutings of her parents and the loud shrilly voice of her mother that yelled divorce and in the next moment, she found herself being sandwiched by her parents who were fighting for her custody. The screams of bloody murder and house in a wreck, it scared her certainly, that was no lie. It made her feel very alone in the world.

The next thing she knew, she was awake, sobbing her eyes out silently and that dreaded Nagihiko had to comfort her. Oh, she was definitely disgusted with herself for allowing herself to cry into his chest but one thing she absolutely regretted on doing was speaking the three nasty words for him not to leave her.

All this lead to the situation where she found herself in the embrace of the one and only, Fujisaki Nagihiko with faces merely inches away in the morning and much to her rage and anger, he was awake himself, smiling away with that stupid smile of his which never failed to irritate her in every sense as he greeted her a 'good morning'.

She reacted like the usual with the cold and icy 'What. Are. You. Doing', except more murderous and malicious. She was redder in the face, partially due to the fact that his face and lips were inches away from hers and that she was enraged.

To which he had to bring up what she'd said last night with that devious teasing smile of his as he tightened his arms around her, deepening her blush.

"Huh? But I thought you said never to leave you?" she recalled him saying in a playful voice with a smirk plastered across his face.

Rima felt herself biting her bottom lip, hard, as she clenched her eyes shut tight, taking in deep breaths, trying to soothe her anger as she thought happy thoughts, glaring into the back of Nagihiko.

She pouted again, how long does it take for him to flip the waffles? It felt like eternity that she had been sitting in the chair of the dining table, waiting for him to be done with breakfast.

She imprinted a long stare at his back and blushed at her thoughts of how encircling her arms around his back would feel like. She mentally slapped herself. What in the world was wrong with her, she slapped herself on her forehead hard and sighed.

Nagihiko whirled around as he tilted the pan, depositing the waffles onto their plates, separating a smaller portion for the Guardian Characters with a grin.

"I hope you'll like 'em."

She felt herself getting all flustered up by his stupid grin as a blush sprayed across her cheeks. Great, now she couldn't even bring herself to look him in the eye or face. She coughed lightly, digging into the waffle.

* * *

Rima sat on her couch, surfing through the countless channels of the television for a decent comedy channel. She yawned, stretching her arms out lightly with Nagihiko sitting in a nearby arm-chair looking as bored as her.

"Pass me the remote; maybe the national geographic channel would have some interesting documentaries today."

She responded with a scowl, passing him the remote reluctantly as she watched him scroll through the channels for a good documentary.

"I beg to differ," she smirked at him as Nagihiko frowned at her.

For a second, their eyes met.

She stifled a small gasp as she turned away from his ochre gaze, suppressing the blush which was spreading steadily across her cheeks.

Nagihiko, who seemed to notice this particular action of hers, raised his brows at her.

There was a long, awkward silence then came the vibration in the pocket of Rima's plaid skirt. She fished out her phone, stealing a short, sharp glance at the caller ID and gave a brief smile as she flipped her phone open.

"Amu..." she smiled, glad that her best friend called, partially due to the boredom and for saving her from the awkward situation she was in.

"Hi, Rima, how's the sleepover coming along?" asked her pink friend in her usual preppy tone.

She felt her smile drop by a millimetre as she directed a glance at the purple-haired boy who just scooted nearer to her with a suspicious smile on. She frowned at him, sticking out her tongue.

"It's... okay," she answered as a relief sigh sounded from the other line.

"Good to hear that you haven't bitten his head off yet, um, hey, Tadase-kun and I were thinking if we could all catch a movie at two. It would be a double-date."

"Double-date my ass," she replied bluntly as Nagihiko let out an amused chuckle.

"Fine, it'll just be a 'group' movie outing. Anyway just meet us at the square by one, see ya' later." Rima smiled to herself, she could literally see the rosette rolling her eyes.

"Bye, Amu," She hung up with a quick flick of the hand, flipping her phone shut as she threw a glare at the boy who was sitting right beside her now. "Who said you could enter the one metre radius around me?" she asked icily as the boy gasped with feigned hurt, shifting closer to her.

"Aw, I'm so hurt, didn't you ask me to never leave you, Rima-chan?"

She turned bright red to the end of her hair roots at the mention and recap of what she'd said the previous night. She folded her arms, cross, turning away from him, backing further away from him.

"Shut up, I did not say that." she retorted, catching the sight of the edge of his lips curling upward into a teasing smirk which she clearly recognised. He moved nearer to her, catching her by surprise as he encircled his arms around her waist, earning a surprised gasp from the blonde.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten how you had held me last night..." he whispered, nearly inaudible.

She could feel his warm breath brushing against the lobe of her ear with the temperature rising by the second. His long, violet, velvet hair tickling the side of her face, making her redder than a tomato if that was even possible as she felt the air getting sucked up by an unknown force, making it harder to breathe, temporary paralysed.

She felt her throat went dry as the strong scent of cherry blossom mixed with a slight hint of boy shampoo filled her lungs. She gulped, trying to soothe the poundings of her heart against her ribcage.

She lowered her head, somehow managing to regain control as the vein in her temple gave a sharp twitch.

Oh, this was so it.

She gritted her teeth, knitting her golden brows into a tight line as she plunged her elbows deep into his gut and voila, his arms were removed but the funniest thing of all was the way he curled up into a ball, writhing in pain. Oh, it was pure ecstasy watching her rival in tow in such pain.

"God... it was just a joke, Rima-chan..."

The way he held his stomach with his eyes all squeezed up as he let out shrieks of pain, it was like day one repeating itself all over again.

"Serves you right,"

She smirked at her masterpiece which was taking place in front of her, whisking her golden curls aside as she ascended the stairs which led to her room to prepare herself for the group movie outing.

* * *

Nagihiko lay on the couch in a fetal position, hands clutching his stomach as he took in big gulps of air to soothe the throbbing pain in his stomach. Was this some kind of déjà vu? God, she was sometimes so... so... hot-headed. Right, maybe he was wrong on that part for teasing her a little too much.

He slapped himself on his forehead, hard.

He should have known she would have reacted like that, he and his ignorance— thinking she would actually appreciate it but he was so darn sure her feelings for him. _So darn sure..._

He lowered his eyes onto the yellow couch, his hazel eyes darkening as the seconds ticked by, the corner of his lips fell into a small frown. Maybe... maybe he was wrong after all. God, why was it all so damned sickening? Of all girls... it had to be the one that was the most stubborn.

Nagihiko groaned inwardly.

Maybe he should have just kept his hands to himself and stopped teasing her when she clearly looked like she was about to explode.

He sighed, if he'd thought about her reactions first, maybe things wouldn't have been so ugly. Even back then... If he didn't just bluntly pointed out that she was using her crocodile tears on Amu, who knows, things would have turned out differently.

_But who was he to figure out that he would have fallen for her._

He felt the soft impact of something light hitting his face as he sprung up right onto the couch, letting the soft fluffy, fabric dropping onto his lap.

It was his clothes. But what surprised him was that it was the kind of clothes he liked to wear when he was out at the mall.

He quirked a brow, a small amused smile tugging at his lips, tilting his head up at the blonde who had a stubborn pout on, as per usual. Her cheeks were tinted light pink with arms folded, her golden eyes averted away from him, carefully not meeting his. She was in a bright-coloured dress with a usual hair band securely tucked in her hair.

He blinked at her.

"I'm not going to suffer alone watching Amu and Tadase acting all lovey-dovey in the theatres." she responded curtly, her eyes finally meeting his as she rolled her eyes at him.

He raised a violet brow teasingly, his smile growing wider as his ochre eyes twinkled under the light. He opened his orange-brown eyes very wide in a plausible imitation of innocence as he blinked at her.

"Are you by any chance, asking me out on a date?"

As quick as lightning, a cushion was lunged at him but he caught it just in time before it even landed on his face. He grinned wider at her, flashing his pearly whites as he got up from the couch, standing before her as he towered above her.

He watched as the blonde began to turn beet red, way redder he had ever seen her before as she gritted her teeth, clenching her fist tightly, glaring her most murderous glare at him, tilting her chin up at him so that she was looking deep into his eyes.

He let out an amused chuckle which he had been holding on for quite awhile, tousling her blonde hair and Before she could even protest, he answered in a light teasing tone, "Sure, I'll accept your _date_." before making a run for the room, breaking into torrents of laughter.

* * *

**A/N: Constructive criticism highly welcomed here; spot any mistakes? Leave me a review or PM and I'll try to fix it as soon as I can. Well if you'd probably notice by now that this story doesn't really have a definite plot, it's just the building up of relationship between the two and with the goal of making them realize their feelings for each other by the last day of the sleepover. It's pretty much of fluff and random ideas which hit me in the weirdest place. Yup, a little in-sight into A Sleepover, I hoped you guys enjoyed reading it. Please stay tune to the next chapter of ****A Sleepover****. xD**

TheGift13 was here.


	6. Perhaps Love?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara and any of the movies listed in this story, they all belong to their own rightful producers.**

**Pairings: Nagihiko X Rima**

**Ratings: T**

**A/N: Thanks so much for those who reviewed/favorited/alerted, I'm really grateful for them. Now, without further ado, please sit back and relax. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Perhaps Love

A duo stood by the ticket counter in the theatres as a certain blonde puffed up her cheeks, glowering at the colorful tiles of the theatres, her cheeks tinted pink as she turned away from the boy with long, flowing violet hair who was grinning ear-to-ear at her.

"Rima, Nagi!" cried out a certain pinkette panting slightly as a messy-haired blonde trailed after her, looking as exhausted and worn out as the rosette in front of him. They stopped in front of the oddly paired duo, slouching forward, their hands on their knees as they panted heavily.

"Amu..." smiled the female blonde.

"I'm sorry we're late, Ami just wouldn't let us go." The duo chuckled with amusement, letting the other pair who had just arrived in front of them, catch their breath.

"Where's your charas?" asked the curious boy with long, violet midnight hair as the pair in front of them gave a gulp.

"They're under her captive..." All of them gave a shudder, shaking their heads with sympathy.

"Oh and speaking of which, where's Rhythm and Kusu-Kusu?" asked Tadase, curiously, looking over Rima and Nagihiko's shoulders for their floating Guardian Characters.

"Ah, they went to one of Kiseki's... meeting..." Nagihiko's face darkened as he uttered the last word, he felt his smile dropped by a millimeter. "Oh well..." He chuckled darkly to himself, fitting his hands into his pockets.

"So what are we watching?" asked Rima, as they stood in queue of the ticketing booth.

"How about 'Fame'? There's dancing in it." Nagihiko lifted a finger with a hopeful smile as the others shook their heads with disapproval.

"Overrated..." muttered Rima as he frowned at her.

"How about 'More Than A Game', I heard it's quite inspirational?" suggested the male blonde with messy-hair, magenta eyes twinkled with anticipation.

"I'm fine with that," agreed the rosette as Rima nodded with unison with her.

"Great, a basketball game isn't that bad." grinned the boy with long, midnight flowing hair as they bought their tickets, entering the movie doors.

* * *

Nagihiko braced himself for the icy cool air-condition of the cinemas as he silently wished that he'd brought his jacket along. He scanned the seas of chairs and heads, realizing that there weren't many vacant seats. He shot a quick glance at Amu's direction, watching her and Tadase making their way to the empty seats in the middle row. He looked up, noticing that there were two empty seats directly behind the pair.

He bit his lips.

Well, that would probably mean that he would be seating alone with _her_ for the entire movie... unsupervised...

He felt his throat went dry as he gulped, heat rising to his cheeks as he stole a glance at the short, petite blonde beside him who remained rather impassive, making her way silently to the two empty seats behind the rosette and the blonde as he trailed behind her closely.

"Must you really sit next to me?" she asked icily as he felt himself winced at her words, deciding that she was still mad at him from that _incident_.

He grinned a teasing smile, "We're on a _date_, aren't we, Rima-chan?" He watched as she opened her mouth to counter-back with a retort but was cut off by the dimming of the lights and the rolling of the trailers.

"Shut up..." He caught her muttered softly, turning towards her sharply as he caught the sight of a faint blush spreading across her cheeks as the bright lights of the trailer flashed in front of them. He smiled inwardly to himself as they watched the movie together without another word.

* * *

It had been at least an hour into the movie and he felt himself tearing up. Scratch that, it wasn't a movie at all; it was just a documentary that followed a NBA superstar and four of his talented teammates through the trials and tribulations of high school basketball to fame. And no, it wasn't because it was so inspirational that he was tearing up, it was because it was boring his eyes out.

He yawned, tears glistening the edges of his eyes. And he thought that documentaries were interesting. He looked ahead of him, realizing that the duo in front of him looked as bored out as him and that the pinkette looked as if she was going to be knock out anytime soon.

There was a soft thud on his shoulders.

He quirked a violet brow at the blonde beside him as he tilted his head towards her, widening his eyes slightly before settling into a smile.

She had fallen asleep on his shoulders.

He chuckled softly to himself, afraid that he would awake her. He couldn't help but watch her a little longer; at least she was much more interesting than the movie itself. He studied her flawless features of her porcelain face through the dim lighting of the cinema closely, memorizing every unique curve.

He smiled an amused smile to himself as he tucked a stray of golden locks behind her ear, the softness and silkiness of her hair lingered on his finger.

He had grown accustomed to the loud pounding of his heart and the urges he'd always fought whenever he was with her. It seemed to have settled down over the past few days and he found himself more comfortable than awkward beside her now.

He reached an arm, circling it around her shoulders as he pulled her closer to him, engulfing himself entirely in her warmth. He'd figured that she would probably murder him if she were to be awake but my as well make full use of the situation while he still can. God, he sounded so much like a pervert now.

He rested his head on top of hers as he closed his eyes shut, letting the loud thudding of his heart drown out the sounds of the movie. Though she was lying real still, her heartbeat was fast, like his. The only thing he could hear was her even breathing (her light wheezing, time to time) and the only thing he could smell was the strong scent of raspberries (probably caused by her shampoo).

He wouldn't mind doing anything if they could stayed like this forever and that time could stop, as long as he had her by his side, he knew, nothing could go wrong.

But that wouldn't be reality.

He opened his eyes, watching the credits roll as the lights grew brighter. He winced at the light, his eyes getting used to the brightness.

"Well, that was one boring documentary..." yawned Amu as she turned towards the blonde beside her with a tired smile.

"Yeah..." answered Tadase with an equally wary smile.

"Ah, Rima, she'd fallen asleep." They turned towards the boy with long, flowing indigo hair with a petite blonde lying on his shoulder. "How cute," she commented.

Nagihiko turned towards the girl who was lying on his shoulder with a weak smile, he lifted his hand, giving the blonde a light shake in which she muttered something unintelligent and stirred in her sleep.

"She won't wake up," commented Nagihiko as Tadase gave a shrug. He lowered his eyes onto the female blonde again. It wasn't because she wouldn't wake up; it was because he just couldn't bear to wake her up.

"Nagi, you could bring her home since you're having the sleepover at her place." suggested the rosette as he gaped at her.

"Wh-what?" he cried softly, afraid to wake the sleeping blonde, a noticeable blush painting across his cheeks. "You can't be possibly serious, Amu-chan."

"It's quite reasonable, Fujisaki-kun." agreed Tadase with a finger wrapping around his chin as he nodded with approval, a smile crossing his lips.

Nagihiko let out a dejected sigh.

"Fine... if you say so," He rolled his eyes as he gently lifted Rima's head, wrapping her arms around his neck as he heaved her onto his back, carrying her out the door of the theatres.

"Well, good luck, Nagihiko. Have fun carrying Rima back." winked Amu as he snorted at her comment.

"Bye, Fujisaki-kun," They bid each other goodbye, giving Nagihiko a light pat on his shoulder for encouragement as they turned their backs on him, making their way back home.

He sighed warily, stealing a glance at the blonde who was sleeping on his back as he forced a smile, making his way back to her place in slow, un-haste steps.

_'Friends...'_

* * *

Rima fluttered her eye lids open, yawning softly as she realized she was holding onto something warm and that the scenery was moving rather slowly.

"Where... am I?" she asked in a soft, tired voice. There was a soft musical chuckle which sounded a lot like sweet, intoxicating melody.

"You're awake," commented the gentle, soothing voice which she found herself getting lured in by. "We're walking home, are you still tired?" asked the angelic voice caringly as she let out a yawn in reply, tightening her grasp on the warm object.

"You know, Rima-chan, I've always wanted to tell you this..." started the mellow, smooth voice, it sounded a little nervous than usual, as she felt herself closing her eyes, breathing in the sweet scent of cherry blossom which lingered in the air, the sleepy sensation was hitting her all over again.

"I've always wanted to shout it out to the world that..." and she trailed off to sleep, unable to catch the last few words which the voice had said.

---

"I've always wanted to shout it out to the world that I like you, Rima-chan..." Nagihiko waited for her reply nervously, he felt his palms getting cold and clammy despite the weather by the second but her respond never came. There was a soft wheezing sound coming from her and he let out a breath which he had been unconsciously holding, heaving a sigh of relief as he realized she had fallen asleep.

Though he was relieved, he felt a pang of disappointment hitting him as well. It had been tugging on him non-stop since the end of the movie, making him feel like he was going to explode. His feelings for her... could it actually be something more than a hopeless puppy crush? No, it can't possibly be...

He chuckled darkly to himself though faltering for a second as he came to an uncertain stop.

No, it can't be anything more. They're still kids after all... He stole another peek at the blonde who was sleeping on his back and suppressed the urge to blush as he turned away, smiling to himself as he shuddered the thought away and resumed his slow pace home.

Perhaps, it was love after all…

He brought a hand forward, twisting the brass knob as he stood on her concrete doorstep. He clicked his tongue, chewing on his cheek. The door was locked. He rested his forehead against the wooden mahogany as he let out a sigh. How could he forget?

He looked around nervously, hoping to catch a flash of bright orange and blonde. Where was Kusu-Kusu when you most needed her?

He sat himself down onto the concrete doorstep, leaning the sleeping blonde against the wall as he stood up, flexing his shoulders, heaving a sigh of relief.

Think, Nagihiko, think… Everyone got to have a spare key somewhere…

He scanned his environment thoroughly, wrapping a finger around his chin as he scratched his head.

There weren't any flowerpots to hide any key...

He was about to give up when the fiery red doormat caught his attention as his eyes lit up with joy and hope, kneeling down as he lifted the doormat, finding a silver key hidden beneath it.

He flicked the key in the air as he smiled in triumph to his find, clicking the locked door open as he entered the empty, hollow house with the blonde sleeping on his back once more.

He kicked off his shoes and did the same for her as he made his way slowly to the living room, heaving himself up the staircase, panting after every step. God, was she heavy…

He kicked her door open slightly as he dropped the blonde and himself onto the bed, breathing heavily as he watched the blonde who was curled up in a nice, warm comfortable position beside him. A bright red hue surfaced onto his cheeks as he sat up abruptly, shaking his head and shuddered to himself.

Snap out of it, Nagihiko, he chided himself mentally as his eyes fell onto the blonde once more and began to darken as the seconds ticked by. He sighed, forcing a smile.

_But, it was his last day here after all…_

And with that, he made his way down to the kitchen, getting ready to make dinner for the last time here.

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Constructive Criticism is welcomed with open arms and if you spot any mistakes, feel free to leave a review or send me a PM, I'll be more than happy to change them. I apologize if some of you find this chapter rush or that it doesn't flow well, 'cause I'm a little behind time for this. I'm also sorry if I'd offended any 'More Than A Game' fans, please forgive me, I'm really sorry. **

**Here's a small tidbit for you guys. I guess some of you might wonder how cherry blossoms actually smell like since I've always claimed that Nagi smelt like it. Well, I've actually been to Japan once and managed to catch the scent of freshly bloomed cherry blossom trees. I'm not so sure but for me, they smelt a lot like roses.**

**Alright, so we're nearly done with day three at Rima's house. Please stay tune for the next chapter. ~Candies4Life**


	7. Reminiscence

**Disclaimers: I do not own Shugo Chara and that's it, no candy crap.**

**Ratings: T**

**Pairings: Nagihiko X Rima**

**A/N: Seriously, whoa. Thanks guys for all the reviews, thank you so damned much. Oh my god... I'd never realized how long I hadn't updated at all... I'm so god-damned sorry to all of you. Seriously... sorry for the extreme lateness for this chapter. I've been caught up with a lot of things, from injuries to sickness to some other classified things, but at least I've finally updated, right? At least this story isn't forgotten yet. But anyway, please sit back and relax, and enjoy the next chapter of A Sleepover.**

* * *

Reminiscence

Nagihiko got himself ready for bed, slipping on his pajamas which consisted of a simple marine shirt and pants which ran down to his ankles. He took a deep breath, fingers curling around the copper, brass knob, bracing himself for the icy chill which bit into his palms. He sighed dejectedly, fingers tightening around the knob as he gritted his teeth, ochre eyes growing dimmer by the second. He tried to turn the knob, but couldn't find the strength to do so. He was hesitating.

He bit back a groan, his grip on the knob slackening as he gulped deeply, turning away from the mahogany door. What was he afraid of behind that door? Why couldn't he open it? It was just a darned door.

He shook his head, snapping back to his senses, calming himself down, tightening his grasp on the brass knob in frustration. It was just Rima and her gag books, what was there to be afraid of? It was just like any other... ordinary days he'd spent here...

His heart gave a tight clench.

No... It wasn't any ordinary day. It was the last day of the sleepover at her place and that meant that he would be leaving the next day. He sighed, wavering physically and mentally as inhaled deeply, twisting the door knob which he'd seemed to be holding onto for eternity.

Everything seemed to happen in slow-motion, the creaking of the door was amplified in his mind by a thousand times, his heart thudding uncontrollably. As he stared at the sight before him, he felt his breath getting trapped in his throat. She was laying there, stomach flat on her bed, as per usual, scanning through her gag comics, looking like the angel she was. Sleek, golden hair flowing down her back, golden, luteous eyes glittering under the light, but for some reason it seemed darker than usual.

She turned towards him, eyes meeting his, and for a split moment, he couldn't find the voice to speak. All he managed out was an 'uh', which kind of earned him a snort, followed by a scowl from her, but whatever she did, never failed to warm his heart.

"Took you long enough..." she muttered under her breath, snapping her comics shut as shoved them away in her shelf where she stored the many copies of Bala-Balance. He quirked an imperceptible brow at her, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to agitate her on the last night of the sleepover.

He got under the covers, slightly fidgety. Up till now he still hadn't got used to the foreign environment of her house, which almost always gave off a 'Rima' sort of feel which was marked as a dangerous territory for him. Most probably it was due to the fact that every room he had been in her house always had that hint of raspberries in it.

He had to admit, it smelt nice. It smelt sweet, delicious, soothing and calming for him. He had seen that bottle of raspberries-scented shampoo in the bathroom a minute ago, he had to get one of those one of these days.

"Hey, Nagihiko," Her quiet, melodious voice snapped him out of his deep thoughts as he jerked his head at her with raised brows. She had an annoyed expression on, furrowed brows with lips brought together. Yup, she looked pissed indeed.

"Huh?" He hadn't realized that he had been facing her all these time when he was in deep thoughts and was most probably staring. He flushed, gingerly not meeting her eyes.

She sighed exasperatedly, "I had been calling you for the past twenty times, what the hell are thinking?" He gulped. She was as blunt as always...

"N-nothing..." he stumbled with his words, looking up at the ceiling boards trying to avert away the attention from him.

"Just switch off the lights, Nagihiko," she answered curtly, as he nodded his head, slightly flustered.

"Oh- yeah right," Fumbling with the switch clumsily, he finally turned off the lights, heaving a sigh of relief, facing his back at her as silence began to fill the empty spaces between them.

He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the sleep to hit him, but his heartbeats was thundering in his ears, her soft breaths echoing through his head with her raspberries scent filling his lungs. How in the world would he be able to survive this night without actually banging his head against the wall in frustration to get him off to dream land? How?

Banging his head against the wall actually seemed to be good idea, but he got to think about how he was going to be able to do it without waking her parents and the neighbors. Or, he could return home in the middle of the night through the window. He could chara-change with Rhythm and jump out of it, and no one would know since Rima was a heavy sleeper and her parents never bothered to check up on her. It was perfect.

Wait, but how was he going to explain to his mother for returning home in the wee hours in the morning? His mother would probably think that the Mashiro family was probably abusing him in the short span of three days and would most likely go to them for answers. But he could talk her out of it right? Last time he checked, the only time he'd talked her out of something was the time when he wanted Amu to come over for a sleepover despite her refusal.

God, everything was futile...

"Hey, Nagihiko..."

Once again, it was her voice which popped his thought bubble again, though this time it wasn't terse, it was more of a natural one. He sighed inwardly to himself, tilting his head towards her, casting a side-way glance at her through the corner of his eyes though all he saw was a pitch of blackness.

He could see through the extreme dim lighting that she was nibbling on her lips, most probably contemplating in deep thoughts.

"Yeah?" He finally responded after what seemed like forever, her luteous eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as she stared right into his ochre ones. He fidgeted slightly. For some reason, he felt like she could see through him and his every thought, making him feel slightly uncomfortable.

_"Goodnight,"_

His jacinth eyes widened slightly, a small gasp escaping his throat as the familiar warmth found its way to his cheeks. For some reason, that simple word made him feel so much emotions surging through him. It made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, it made him feel... happy. His lips curled upwards, forming a true, genuine smile.

"Goodnight, Ri-"

Somehow, he was cut off by a pair of soft lips, pressing gently against his own as he flushed deep crimson, unable to move but soon, he managed to succumb to the kiss.

If this was a dream, he would never want to wake up from it. Never. Just when she was about to break away from him, he pulled her close, lips fusing with hers back as his hands crept to the back of her head, toying around with her golden curls, feeling a wonderful sense of bliss washing over him. He would never want this moment to end with her strawberry-flavored lips over his and her raspberries fragrance filling his nostrils.

It was just too good to be true.

Before long, he parted away from her for air, their breaths heavy and uneven, holding her close, resting his chin on her forehead, arms coiled around each other's waists as she quivered under his embrace, tightening his grasp around her. She snuggled slightly into his chest, contented with the warmth he was supplying as he did the same, indulging himself in her lukewarm comfort.

And that was probably the sweetest sleep he'd had over the past three days and being the naive teenager he was, he'd thought that this moment would most likely last forever that is, until his cell phone began to vibrate nosily in which he responded with a muffled groan, tired ochre eyes cracking open with the warm dawn rays streaming through the windows as he tried to shield his eyes from the sunlight to no avail since limbs were all tangled up in an unsightly mess.

He sank back into the bed as he tried lifting himself up, realizing for the first time that he was crushing a small, delicate hand, rolling the sleeping girl to aside, pulling up the sheets right up to her chin. He sat himself up on the bed; legs were spread apart as his feet touched the icy cool floor. His fingers raked through his long violet hair as he shook his head, slightly disoriented by the sleep.

He casted a side-way glance through the corner of his jacinth eyes in her direction with a heavy heart.

Whatever happened last night probably did not even happen, but he's still glad nonetheless to have such sweet dreams of her.

With a short grunt, he pushed himself off the bed as he started to pack everything of his into his bags.

_~A Sleepover~_

He tip-toed down the staircase quietly, holding up his baggage as he finally touched ground with a soft creak, sucking in a deep breath, head shooting up to where the sleeping beauty's bedroom was. Only when he was sure that no movement was made throughout the whole house that he'd let out the breath which he was unconsciously holding on to before making his way to the living room silently.

Yes, he was going to leave without her knowing; and yes, this was probably the worst way of ending a sleepover, but he'd written a letter to explain his absence, so it wasn't just as bad, right?

He put his baggage of clothes down onto the living room floor, looking at the kitchen longingly. He definitely should at least make breakfast for her, knowing her, she'd probably let herself go without breakfast if there was nothing for her to eat.

He sighed, a half-hearted smile crossing his lips as he rolled up his sleeves, glancing up at the clock. It was time to get to work before the mistress of the house arouse from her slumber.

And after this, he would take his leave and most likely to never return to this house again.

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**A/N:** **Constructive Criticism is welcomed; spot any mistakes? Let me know by dropping a review or PM and I'll see to it immediately. Let's just say this chapter have been scrapped off and re-written for quite a number of times, I just didn't know how to end this chapter properly and everything, but I finally got the outcome I'd wanted. I'm not going to promise weekly updates, it'll just be quite unfair for you guys as I'll be rushing through everything since I have three stories to handle and it's going to be hard so please be patient, I'll try my very best to update as soon as I can. Please stay tune for the next chapter of A Sleepover. ~Deon **


	8. Remnants

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara; well, maybe I do in my sweet-filled dreams.**

**Pairings: Nagihiko X Rima**

**Ratings: T**

**A/N: Whee~ Thanks all for the support, the favorites, alerts and reviews, I'm really grateful for them. I'm sorry if I kept you all waiting with this new chapter, I was hoping on updating it a tad earlier but I just didn't managed to complete and edit it in time, but anyway, it's finally completed so I shan't hold you back any longer. Please sit back and relax; let your eyes do the reading for now.**

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Remnants

Rima woke up groggily in her bed, luteous gold eyes wrenching open as she stared up at the ceiling boards with a blank expression written on her face, a deafening silence held in the air as everything seemed to hold its breath, waiting for her to make a move. She had no idea when was the last time she'd felt like this, waking up to such unbearable silence; no one would know if she were ever to be murdered in here, her blood-curling screams would just resonate through the empty house, fighting to escape the thick walls which they were confined in.

She shuddered that creepy thought away, trying to freshen up as she did some light stretches, sitting cross-legged on the bed, it was only until then she'd realized the absence of the fragrant of cherry blossom in the room, but it didn't worry her that much.

She lowered her eyes onto the neatly made side of the bed as a soft sigh escaped her lips. He was always up early, as per usual, probably making breakfast by now as she wondered idly what he was making, exiting the room quietly. She made her way down the staircase discreetly, taking a whiff of the air and was slightly puzzled by the lack of aroma of food as she silently crept towards the kitchen in tip-toes. She was sure that this time round, she would scare the wits of him and he would have no idea what had hit him.

She smirked gleefully to herself, stepping into the kitchen as her the smirk on her lips instantly curled into a frown. Empty. He wasn't there at all. She paced around the kitchen, baffled by his disappearance as she ran a finger down the stove, a layer of oil and vapor trapping on her finger. The stove was just in use about an hour ago or so, but where was the chef? She whirled around, scanning her environment, hoping to find the familiar lean figure of the long-haired boy who recently took up residence in her house.

Her eyes fell onto the plate of pancakes on the table, neatly set up with the large jar of maple syrup sitting peacefully beside it. Her stomach growled softly as she felt herself drool at the sight of it. Pancakes were her favorite breakfast and only he knew it.

She gulped, her chest feeling slightly heavy as she gave her surroundings one last scan. Where was he?

She furrowed her brows, shaking her head, calming her erratic breaths down as she decided to thoroughly go through every room in the house; she just had to make sure that... he was okay. Yes, she had to admit she had never thought she would say this, but, she was worried for him. With every minute ticking by with no sign of him, her heartbeats seemed to echo through her mind, she could hear them thudding loudly in her ear like a bomb, just waiting to explode.

_"Nagihiko?"_

She perked up her ears, trying to catch the simple syllabus of her name but to no avail, silence was the only one who greeted in return. She was afraid, yes, she was afraid. Now, where was he?

She started with the washroom, gingerly knocking on the door before intruding.

Nope, no one was there.

The attic.

Not a single life in there.

The study.

Not a single soul.

Living room.

Just a pitch of silence.

Her parents' room.

Nope, locked.

Her room.

There were only the remnants of his scent.

She threw herself onto her bed with a soft thud, hands stretched out, alongside with her golden locks of wavy blonde hair as she stared up at the ceiling boards once again, golden melichrous eyes taking a shade of a dark gold color, nearly grey. She gulped, trying to suppress the sadness and lonliness which was making their way up to the surface. It was only then she'd realized the true meaning of this overbearing silence.

He was gone.

For the first time, she'd realized the disappearance of his bags, shampoo, toothbrush and all of his other necessities. They were all like their owner. Gone. Away from this house and back to their original place in the big mansion of the Fujisaki's by now.

He was really gone.

She sniffled, a shaky hand creeping to her mouth to suppress her angry, lonesome cries filled with self-pity. She still couldn't believe he would just leave her like this, without even saying a goodbye. That stupid douchebag... leaving a poor girl all alone in a big empty house, leaving her to find any traces of him hopelessly despite the fact that he was long gone away from this place.

She squeezed her eyes shut, a crystal-like tear leaking from the corner of her eye, as she took in a deep breath, trying to suppress her sniffles and desperate cries, pushing it down, burying it. The time they spent together for the past three days flooded her mind, causing her stomach to lurch and churn with discomfort. The pancakes he made... the way he had that face on when he tended to her wounds when she fell down the stairs... the movie they'd watch together... the gentle smiles he had... the way her name flowed out of his mouth... the bickering they shared... the teases... the kiss...

She felt herself gasp out loud at the last part, the familiar warm hue spreading across her cheeks evenly as she tried to wipe out every existing memory of that... that... kiss they shared together. It was actually an accident. She didn't really meant to kiss him full on the lips, she merely wanted to give him a peck on his cheeks but... darn the stupid lighting...

But it was time to return back to the cruel reality. She had to face the fact that he was gone, most likely to never return back to her house. She chuckled bitterly to herself, and she thought that his departure wouldn't actually impact her at all; well, at least she was more angry than sad... but what lies she'd told herself back then...

A soft flapping of paper caught her attention as she finally broke free of her thoughts, head turning towards the piece of flimsy paper by her bedside. She gasped, slightly ecstatic as she shot out of bed, grabbing the piece of paper hungrily, eyes scanning through the letter as her face began to fell with each letter her eyes came across:

Rima,

I'm sorry for leaving without goodbye but I just couldn't bring myself to wake you up while you were fast asleep in such an angelic, peaceful form. _(Lies... that jerk.) _So while you were asleep, I'd made breakfast _-insert smiley face- _it's your favorite, pancakes. I hope you enjoy them and just don't starve yourself. _(Oh, like she would...) _Just a simple reminder, last night's leftover pasta is in the freezer and I've taken the liberty of ironing your laundry, they're all nicely folded and placed in your cabinet. Remember to eat well and not starve yourself, if you're out of food... please... don't even bother to try to cook, just dial for pizza or something. _(How dare he underestimate her like this. Fine, maybe he's right on that part.) _Once again, I'm so sorry for not saying goodbye but I hope that you'll take good care of yourself till the next sleepover at my place. _-Insert smiley face again-_

F. Nagihiko

P/S: I've exchanged phone numbers with you while you were asleep _(WHAAT?!)_ so if you're reading this now, call me when you want to discuss about the next sleepover at my place. _-Insert smiley face again-_

P/P/S: Just be reminded that if you'd spent two to three hours looking for me and have just found this letter, the pancakes I've laid on the table is probably out cold by now, I expect you know how to heat it up, no? Just popped it into the microwave and press that red little button right there and viola, you just heated up your pancakes. _(That slimy douchebag...)_

Let's just say that by the end of reading the letter he'd left her, she'd very nearly ripped it apart into a million pieces. That god-damned Nagihiko... always making her so angry, she sighed as a small smile tugged on the corner of her lips. At least, he was alright and that 0he still cared, that was all more than enough to calm her pounding her heart, just to know that he was okay and still his usual irritating self.

With a smile plastered across her face, she descended down the steps to have stone-cold pancakes for breakfast.

_~A Sleepover~_

Fujisaki Nagihiko paced around his room nervously with a marine-blue phone held beside him as he tapped his fingers against his chin, waiting (im)patiently for a familiar phone number to pop up on his caller i.d. He slumped back onto his bed, ruffling his dark, violet hair violently as he nibbled on his lips, looking down onto his phone for the millionth time, nearly screaming out with desperation, the same question he had been asking himself replayed in his mind for the millionth time.

Why hadn't she called?

Its two p.m and she hadn't called. Why? Did she fell down the stairs again and hurt herself? Did she try to cook something up in the kitchen and set it ablaze? Was she still looking for him aimlessly?

He shook his head, trying to clear out of those disturbing thoughts as he constantly assured that she was okay and alright in that creepy house of hers, but why hadn't she called? He was getting so worried, with every second ticking by, his mind began to go astray with all the horrid thoughts of her getting injured, burned up in flames and etcetera.

Urgh, he can't take it any longer.

He flipped open the lid of his cell phone as he thumbed away her number but only to stop with trembling fingers upon contemplating to press the dial button of his phone. He was hesitating, yet again. The warm, sticky fluid of his sweat snaked down his cheeks, trickling down his chin as he gulped, fingers hovering above that single button that would lead most likely lead to her voice. His heart drummed against his ears as his thumb neared the big, round button, he could feel the cool, iciness of the metallic button radiating back at his finger.

"Just press that god-damned button already!" screeched a certain Guardian Character of his while his other twin merely shook her head in response.

He let out an exasperated sigh, turning to his two Charas, "How long have you been watching me?"

"The whole time, Nagihiko... The whole time..." nodded his two, twin Charas as they clicked their tongues in a reprimanding tone in unison. He sulked at them for a minute before turning back to the cell phone in his hands with a sigh. It felt like he was holding onto a dynamite which could explode in his hands any second.

"Or... do you need a little push, Nagi?" winked Rhythm, hands tucked into his pockets securely as Nagihiko instantly grew rigid at the sound of 'push', by meaning of 'push' from Rhythm, things would probably be rather... unpredictable and he would most likely screw up his relationship with a certain blonde.

"No! I-I'll do this on my own, thank you very much, Rhythm," The minuscule version of him shrugged casually, floating back to the side of his graceful Chara cladded in a delicate piece of pink kimono.

He shook his head from the distraction of his two Chara's watchful, innocent eyes, turning back to the phone of death in his hands, taking up where he'd left off.

Just a little more and his thumb would land on the much awaited button of doom. Just a little more... He narrowed his ochre eyes as he concentrated on that big, metallic button with all his might, taking in a deep breath as he braced himself for the soft 'click'.

The trill of Debussy's Claire de Lune filled the air with a peaceful tune but as peaceful as it was, he still found himself jumping out of his wits, thus, nearly dropping his phone as he fumbled clumsily for the buttons nervously, "Hello?"

"This is Nagihiko, right?" came a quiet voice with an evident blunt edge to it as he chewed on his lips uneasily, turning slightly pale than before.

"Ah, Rima-chan, you're calling to discuss the sleepover right?"

"No, I'm here to discuss about how to operate a microwave." The flatness of her voice made him feel slightly uncomfortable as he gulped deeply, for some reason the collar of his shirt seemed to close in on his neck as he found it hard to breathe. He shifted his weight on his leg as he coughed awkwardly into the mouth-piece. She can't be serious, can she? "Of course I called to discuss about the sleepover, and don't think you're off the hook for thinking that I do not know how to operate a friggin' microwave.

He let out a relieved sigh, he could totally imagine her rolling her eyes.

"Well, we'll start the sleepover at my place next week at eight?"

"In the night?"

"No, in the morning, silly,"

There was a long pause, as if she was contemplating hard and was hesitating to answer. He sighed exasperatedly into the phone, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes, "Fine, I'll come pick you up," A relieved sigh from the other end of the line confirmed his thoughts earlier.

"Well, so what did you have for lunch?"

"Left-over pasta,"

"Warm or cold?"

"Warm, duh, are you still belittling me?"

"No, no, of course not..." He chuckled nervously, sweat-dropping at the terseness of her voice, shaking the awkwardness away as he continued, "So... what are you going to have for dinner?"

There was a short pause, and for a minute there, he felt that he'd struck a broken chord of her heart strings, a painful silence consumed them and the only sound was probably her breathing through the other line, it was only after some time that she finally responded, "I... I don't know," For the first time, there wasn't a hint of terseness or curtness, it made her seem vulnerable and it broke his heart to see/hear her like that. "I just wish that..." she trailed off, wavering slightly at the end of her sentence, sighing nearly inaudibly, she whispered, "Bye,"

And the line went dead instantly.

He stared down at his phone longingly, exhaling softly as he flipped the lid shut, slipping it into his pocket.

"Hey, Nagi, what's this?" His head jerked at the flamboyant voice of his chara as he shot him a questioningly look, his ochre eyes falling onto a colorful gag book before he found himself chewing on his lips panicky. "It's yours... right?" The smile of his chara fell, as soon as his bearer's expression became stiff, shaking his head profusely, sighing deeply to himself.

Guess, he would have to return to her house... again.

"Hey, it's me again, um, I think might have accidentally took your gag comic by accident."

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**A/N: ****Constructive Criticism is welcomed; spot any mistakes? Let me know by dropping a review or PM and I'll see to it immediately. Hmm, I finally managed to gauge the amount of chapter this story is going to have and it'll probably end around chapters 16 to 18 or somewhere around that number. I'm still thinking if I should make a sequel for this, but with a more concrete plot... Anyways, please stay tune for the next chapter of A Sleepover — Deon**


	9. Nostalgia

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara but I used to own a hamster named Nagi.**

**Pairings: Nagihiko X Rima**

**Ratings: T**

**A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! Thank you all for all your reviews, alerts and favorites, I guess the only way to repay you guys for the debt I'm in for the extreme lateness of chapter seven is by doing what I can do currently. I'll just congratulate reviewer #100 in advance if we (hopefully) managed to hit it with this chapter. Alright, I shan't hold you back any longer. May I present you chapter 9, the longest chapter in A Sleepover.**

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**A Sleepover**

_(can it possibly change their lives?)_

Nostalgia

Rima grew rigid at the ringing of her orange-yellow cell phone, she'd just put it down a minute ago and she was not expecting any calls in the next few hours. For some reason, the shrill ringing of her phone seemed to bounce back right at her through the thick walls of her empty house. It definitely sent a shiver down her spine. Gulping slightly, she flipped the lid of her phone in one elegant movement without glancing at the caller i.d and before she could even respond, a familiar mellow, smooth voice flowed out of the ear-piece.

"Hey, it's me again, um; I think might have accidentally took your gag comics by accident." And for a minute there, she seemed to froze, her mind registering what the boy had just said.

"You took my what?" she cried in an incredulous tone, voice rising an octave at every word she spoke though slightly unconvinced by what he'd just said. Totally impossible for him to have taken her gag comic. Repeat, impossible."Since when?" She half-shrieked half-said into the mouth-piece. A nervous chuckle hit a worry string deep down in her as hurried to the table where her comics were scattered all over, scanning through them thoroughly, taking in the pictures and the issue number.

"I think I might have swopped it with my book," True enough as she pushed away a stack of her colorful gag comics, there it sat, peacefully and majestically with the sunlight falling onto its brown surface, Nagihiko's freaking book. The book practically stood out in the pile of her comics. It was like black and white item placed in an extremely colorful movie. How the heck did he managed to take her comic by accident? How? How can anyone miss out that thick, brown book? It just wasn't possible.

"Seriously?" she asked pointedly, a slight hint of exasperation in her voice as the boy on the other end of the line let out a tired sigh, "Are you blind, that book of yours is friggin' brown, it literally screams 'I do not belong' in my pile of comics—"

"I was distracted just now okay?" He cut her off from her screams and cries at him, desperation consuming his smooth voice as she found herself furrowing her brows at this, slightly unconvinced, a frown forming on her lips.

"By what?" she asked, rage still filling the gaps in her usual quiet voice.

And their conversation seemed to have died right there and then. Every sign of irritation, frustration seemed to dissipated and dissolve into a pit of emptiness, a large void containing them as silence settled in peacefully. All she heard from the ear-piece were his weary-sounding breaths and the soft clicking of his tongue whenever he was in deep thoughts. It felt like an eternity when he finally spoke.

"Oh... The laundries... and doing your breakfast... I was rushing when I packed my bags, alright?" From the slight irritation in his voice, she could tell that he was lying, but she decided to let it slide for once and not to press on any further.

"Fine," A soft, nearly inaudible relieved sigh confirmed her suspicions of him lying earlier, yet, she decided to seal up her mouth for the time being. "But, if I find a single torn or crumpled up page, especially the cover of my comic... your toes shall suffer a death sentence, capiche?

"Fine, oh-great-Rima, I'll come by your house in five to ten minutes time, see you later," And the line went dead into the usual monotone, giving her cell phone one last look, she snapped it shut with a sigh, squeezing her amber eyes shut as her fingers made its way to her forehead, grabbing a bunch of her golden locks between her fingers.

What was this that she's feeling? The tugging of her heart that she knew the fact that he was lying to her, it disturbed her greatly. Why did he lie? Why did it affect her that much that he didn't trust her? The dull stinging in her heart, mixed with the slight excitement and anticipation that he was coming over to her house... it confused her.

"That idiot..." she muttered in between gritted teeth to herself, her eyes flipping open as she couldn't help but giving a small pout of her own.

_~A Sleepover~_

The doorbell rang shrilly, through the walls of her house as her heart skipped a beat, the familiar heat rushing up to her cheeks as her head jerked right at the door from her usual 'ball-like' position. For some reason, she was unable to pay attention to her favorite television program— comedy central— and the gags which usually spewed out from the speakers of her television didn't seemed to have that usual laughing effect on her. It was only that dreaded doorbell— which she had been waiting for, for the past five to ten minutes— that snapped her out of her trance-like state.

With her heart thudding loudly against her chest and the lurching of her stomach, she got up from the couch shakily as she walked towards the door, which seemed like a death sentence, with slow and hesitating steps.

Her slender fingers curled around the copper-brass knob as she inhaled deeply, preparing herself— or her heart— for the over looming doom. She didn't need to look into the peep-hole to know that it was him. She could sense the soft tapping of his foot, whenever he's waiting and that soft, squeaky sound he did with his lips whenever he was nervous behind the door which separated the both of them.

And with a soft exhale of breath, her fingers tightened around the knob, wrenching the door open in one fluid movement as she tried to keep her facial expression as impassive and as unreadable like always. Her breath seemed to have hitched right in throat as her eyes fell onto tall and lean figure.

Wearing a simple shirt and jeans, there he was at her doorstep, with his long violet hair flowing in the brisk wind as his warm, sticky sweat trickled down his chin, his cheeks tinted slight pink due to the summer heat. A rather flustered expression claimed his winsome features, his lips parted slightly as he panted softly into the air, his ochre eyes was falling onto everything except for her.

"Can I... come in?" For a second there, she could have sworn that the pink on his cheeks seemed to have glowed but decided to dismiss it as her over-active imagination. She glanced over his shoulder expectantly expecting to see the minuscule versions of him floating around him.

"Where's Temari and Rhythm?" She took a step aside as she gestured to him to enter the house, in which he nodded in response, taking off his shoes, entering through the small gap she had made for him.

"I told them to stay put at home," She observed curiously with her vegas gold eyes as the boy furrowed his purple brows, a frown forming on his lips as he muttered incoherently through gritted teeth, "Bringing Rhythm along would be more of a hassle..." She quirked a quick amused brow at this but didn't bothered to say anything about it.

She closed the door with a soft 'thud' as the boy slumped into the nearest chair he'd seen, his ochre eyes squeezed shut, a soft lethargic sigh escaping his lips with his legs stretched out.

"Water or tea?" she asked impassively, not forgetting her manners as she paused in front of him for a minute or two. He was quite out of breath, she'd observed as she wondered idly if he'd ran all the way here.

"Water would be nice," She shrugged casually as she began to stroll into the kitchen until he did a double take, getting up from the arm-chair he'd been sitting on hastily, looking slightly apprehensive. "It's okay; I'll get it myself,"

She threw him a unsatisfied pout, golden brows scrunched up together as she wrinkled her nose with disdain, speaking in a brusque tone, "Last time I checked, I am the host and you were the guest, Nagihiko," She had put in his name at the end of the sentence to tell him that she wasn't just joking around.

His nervous chuckle seemed to resonate through the walls of her house and for some reason, it hit an unfamiliar note in her heart, but as soon as the unfamiliarity of feelings surfaced into the open, she shuddered them away briskly, shaking her head.

"Maybe I'm just a little too used with things here..." he mumbled vaguely to himself absently under his breath as her brows rose at this, he'd probably didn't meant for her to catch what he'd just said as he turned towards with a gentle, assuring smile plastered across his face, his voice unnervingly calm and pleasing to her ears, "We can't risk another broken glass, can we?" he winked at her teasingly and she felt herself froze momentarily, trying to suppress the warmth which was creeping up from her neck, but she managed to catch that dreaded smirk of his as he made use of her distraction, strolling into the kitchen, fetching himself a glass.

Regaining her composure, she raced towards the glass, which was sitting peacefully on the lower section of the drying racks oblivious to the incoming dangers it was going to face, like it depended on her life. She wrapped her fingers around the broad waist of the glass cup, ignoring the fact that his fingers had already curled around it before hers even landed on it. She shot a glare up at him as he did the same, a strained mirthful smile crossing his lips.

"I still insist on making that glass of water for you," she grumbled between gritted teeth, golden eyes never once leaving his, she could practically see the electricity flying in the space between their eyes.

"It's okay, since I'm already here, let me make it myself," he spoke in an extremely calm and unusually gentle voice, his devious smirk stretching across his lips gradually as she knitted her brows at him, frowning deeply at the sight of his smirk growing wider.

It happened in a split second, their glares still holding strong, flaring at each other, his free hand snaked up discreetly, clasping onto her hand which was grasping onto the piece of glass. Her grip loosened almost instantly but her competitive side held onto the piece of glass as electricity sparked as their skin made contact with each other. He leaned in towards her, the warmth of his soft lips brushing against her ear, sending chills down her spine as he whispered silently into her ear in a teasing manner.

"You're cute when you do that,"

And with that, she was knocked speechless, blinking dumbly up at him with her big, bambi-like eyes with a hint of perplexity, her jaw hanging loosely as Nagihiko slid the glass out of her fingers sneakily, filling his cup with water in a swift, fluid movement, gulping the water down quickly as he turned to grin triumphantly at her with an unreadable twinkle in his eyes, wiping his mouth as she swore under her breath.

She had lost to him once again.

She clenched her fist, cheeks glowing bright red.

"Simmer down, Rima-chan, I was just playing around," He fanned her away, a small smile crossing his lips as a deep, mellow chuckle escaped his lip. She led him out of the kitchen sulkily as she seated him down onto the couch, switching the television on for him.

"I'm going up to take your book," she responded in a flat tone as he passed her, her colorful, beloved gag comic. Her golden eyes brightened up a little at the sight of it, turning away from his gaze so as to not allow him to have the pleasure of watching her getting all relieved that her dear gag book was finally safe and sound, and back to where it belonged.

Without another word she'd fumbled up the steps, her comic protectively tucked in between her arms.

_~A Sleepover~_

When she finally returned back to the living room with a certain book of his in her hands she was slightly alarm to learn that the seats in the living room was unoccupied and a certain somebody with long, ravishing violet hair was gone. She frowned outwardly, glancing around her surroundings before lifting her head and taking a whiff of the musty air, catching the faint aroma of food.

With her curiosity aroused, she trailed the fragrance of food into the kitchen, feeling her stomach grumble in response at the slight buzz of sizzling oil, filling her ears. Peeking her head into the kitchen, she found herself stopped in her tracks, awed by the sight in front of her. There he was, with a bright yellow apron on, with his indigo hair whisking behind his waist in her kitchen.

"What the heck are you doing?" She asked, slightly disgruntled by the fact that he'd once again took the initiative. He titled his head towards her; a small smile playing on his lips, his finely chiseled features had a thin, sheen coating of sweat as his lips parted to reply her query.

"Cooking dinner," he replied simply turning back to the cooking again, his back facing her once more as she rolled her eyes at him despite the fact that a smile had subconsciously found its way to her lips. He really just couldn't help to help her out with the household chores and cooking, can he? He'd probably make a good house-husband in the future, she wondered idly as she found herself blushing at the thought of having the long-haired Fujisaki heir, cleaning up her house with a permanent apron hanging around his waist while he occasionally tended to the food in the kitchen.

She shuddered the disgusting, yet oddly soothing, thought away, eyes training onto the back of Fujisaki Nagihiko; while he turned to the side, collecting some of his chopped up ingredient to be cooked, it gave her enough time to have a good look at his profile. He was tall, lean and slightly toned from his occasional basketball practice, graceful and beautiful in an enigmatic way that she couldn't explain. Finely chiseled features, a nice warm smile and sparkling ochre eyes. She had to admit that he was sort of attractive after all. Probably seek after by many girls...

She tensed up; knuckles growing white as she clenched her fist into a tight ball, teeth brought together, and brows knitted into a tight brow. The thought of him being chased after by other girls felt so wrong, it made her feel so angry, so aggravated, so infuriated, so very livid, so... jealous...?

"Are your parents coming home for dinner or is it just you alone?"

Her head jerked right back in place at the sound of his voice, calm, mellow and pleasing to the ear, her brows rising as she looked slightly perplexed, every traces of anger fading away."Sorry?"

"Are your parents coming home for dinner or are you just going to have it alone?" She nearly rolled her eyes at his query. As if it wasn't obvious enough...

"The latter,"

"Good,"

She blinked, raising her brows, slightly confused by his response as he turned towards her with a smile tugging on the corner of his lips, settling down the dishes on the table with the servings clearly meant for two instead of one. She wrinkled her forehead, glancing up at his smiling face and sparkling amber eyes which was a shade darker than hers. He slipped into the chair beside her, sliding off the apron, still smiling away that devious grin of his which usually meant trouble.

"Looks like I'm staying for dinner, _Rima-chan_," She shuddered at the dripping tease in his voice as he pronounced every syllabus in her name in an accurate, sing-song tune. He chuckled, clearly amused by her reaction as he tousled her locks of golden hair in a gentle and affectionate manner, causing her to flush slightly. With his slender fingers still securely tucked beneath her blonde waves of hair, he leaned closer towards her, his lips nearly brushing against her ear as he whispered in a low, husky tone, "I was right after all, you really _are_ cute,"

Realizing how close they were at the moment of time, her heart thumped loudly in her ears, the rising heat gushed up to her face and somehow she had some trouble with swallowing her saliva as she gradually became aware of the tiniest things like how she'd noticed a small crack in the wall which she had never really taken time to note before or how she had a cute kitchen magnet she'd never knew she had or how he smelt a little like sweat with the hint of cherry blossom, but the thing which she was consciously aware of would be the drawing closeness between his and her face.

"Maybe I should reward you with a kiss..." he drawled carelessly, his breath blowing caressing her lips gently causing her to shiver ever so slightly. He was definitely losing it. What happened to the operator who usually controlled the switches and buttons in her head which always produced blunt and witty responses? She could feel the heat radiating off his lips as he inched closer towards her, his breaths exceedingly calm and controlled, all she could hear was her loud thud of her heart beat and the constant fluttering of her stomach, then... darkness.

Her eyes was covered by a soft, delicate hand and soon came the soft impact she'd been anticipating from the start— a pair of soft lips, crushed against her own. It ended as quickly as it came about, his smiling, grinning face coming back to view as his hand left her eyes.

"Gotcha' there didn't I?" He grinned, lifting his fingers in front of her as he pinch his index finger and thumb together, bringing it to her lips, "Doesn't it feel like a pair of lips?" He was chuckling away by then, "And with your eyes covered, it was even more difficult to tell, wasn't it?" She merely gaped at him like a fish. Correction: a red, gaping fish. Her right eye gave a noticeable twitch, her mouth snapping back shut as she crinkled her brow at him with a balled up fist before giving the boy with long, flowing violet hair the mightiest stomp of his life.

_~A Sleepover~_

The contents on the table literally leapt up in the air as the table let out a loud thud/squeak whilst Fujisaki Nagihiko let out the screech of the lifetime and for the first time, the young blonde was glad she had this sleepover in the first place— a good source of entertainment. Despite the fact that she was still red in the face, she managed to find back her voice for a snigger at the boy who had fell off his chair in pain, nursing his probably bruised-up foot, swearing like a sailor, muttering the curses like a mantra.

"God, it was just a friggin' joke!" The desperation and exasperation in his usual smooth voice turned hoarse and gruff forced a giggle out from her tightly sealed lips.

"Let it be a reminder for you to think of my reaction before acting, jerk,"

"Jerk? Hey, you're the one who stepped on my god-damned toes and I can't feel them anymore,"

"It was your fault who played a prank on me, Einstein,"

"Oh? So what are you going to do if I can't walk anymore due to my broken toes?"

And that was probably the end of their quarrel; silence just walked into the space between them, settling itself down as it watched both boy and girl's anger melting into a puddle of water, lips both pursed into a straight line, eyes held both held an apologetic glint, panting in unison after firing their hot retorts at each other a minute ago. It would be a matter of time before one would take the initiative to apologize.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out, hint of pink tinted on her cheeks, her golden melichrous eyes unable to meet his ochre ones. Nagihiko's expression softened tremendously, shoulders slowly sinking down as he shook his head solemnly.

"No, it's my fault that I..." he trailed off faintly, gulping before continuing, "I'm sorry," Raising his hand up at the blonde as she raised a golden brow at him.

"What?" Nagihiko wrinkled his forehead, looking slightly perplexed with his hand still lifted towards her.

"Aren't you going to help me up?" She pretended to contemplate for a minute before shooting him a flat look he clearly recognized.

"No, 'cause you'll most likely pull me down again." she stated dryly, a small frown pasted across her face as the boy merely stared up at her from the kitchen floor, sweat-dropping. "I'm just going to play safe and have dinner, thank you very much,"

And that just confirmed one thing he had in mind: Mashiro Rima is one stubborn girl.

_~A Sleepover~ _

She continued to watch from her doorstep as he whirled around with his back facing her, his shadow gradually fading around the bend. It was only then she allowed herself the privilege to sigh, closing the door with a soft 'click' as she rested her forehead against the smooth wood. The house had turned abnormally quiet at the absence his presence with the looming feeling of longing, it saddened her a little and that was as far she could admit.

With a soft click of her tongue, she strode into the kitchen, preparing herself to do the dishes but was faced with the sight of clean, dried dishes placed on the drying rack. He took the imitative again, how smart. And speaking of initiatives, her mind began to stroll into forbidden premises causing her to flush deep red.

Up till now, her nagging conscience was still poking at her, leaving trails of tingling sensation behind. There was something she still couldn't put a finger to, at period of time. He was holding her tightly by her wrist back then with his free hand while the other was used to cup over her eyes. He shouldn't be able to do it, pinching her lips at that time that is. Unless he'd...

Her golden honey eyes widened upon recognition, fingers instinctively touching her lips as a gasp escaped her throat, turning redder than before.

_"That idiot..." _

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**A/N:** **Constructive Criticism is welcomed; spot any mistakes? Let me know by dropping a review or PM and I'll see to it immediately. Whoa, and I thought I would never get this chapter done. I was seriously pushing my limits and racing for time for this one and I hope it didn't turned out rush and if it do, you know the drill. I know I've said that this chapter would not be out that soon, but surprise, I'm suddenly reminded about school and that I have to return back for the new term in due time which probably means that I would haveloads of homework piled up for me. Alright, I can't give you a definite answer, but the setting for next chapter would most likely be at Nagihiko's house— The Fujisaki Mansion— In the mean time, stay safe, be healthy and please stay tune for the next chapter of A Sleepover. —Deon**


	10. Just Admit It

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara.**

**Pairings: Nagihiko X Rima**

**Ratings: T**

**A/N: First things first, please do not kill me. I know, I know... It'd been two or three months since I last updated, and I'm so freaking sorry. I sort of had an extreme bad case of writer's block and this chapter have been re-written and scrapped for more than thirty times, and I sort of gave up along the way. But for some miraculous reason, the thirty-eighth time I tried (Yes, I counted everytime I nearly smashed my keyboard), I was finally successful. So, once again, I apologize for the extreme, extreme lateness of this chapter, and thank you so much to those who have supported the story with your kind reviews, favorites and alerts. I hope you will enjoy this particular chapter.**

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**A Sleepover**

_(can it possibly change their lives)_

Just Admit It

Well, she had to admit that the first fifteen minutes with each other ever since that 'incident' which occurred last week, was rather awkward and tense, for her, that is. She was rather freaked by the fact that he still wore that chirpy, smiley face of his when he'd rung her doorbell with those miniature dolls of his— Rhythm and Temari— floating by his shoulder, despite what had happened.

But of course, she couldn't blame the whole thing on his Guardian Characters as it just wouldn't be fair since they weren't there in the first place, but part of her wanted to blame it all on them for his discreet method and teasing ways, while the other half... probably wanted to believe that he'd done it on his own accord.

And being the ice queen she was, she'd thought that she would have played it out cool and calm. Note, _would have_. Her facade was, sad to say, destroyed, and crumbled up before her very eyes as she stumbled on her first few words when she'd seen him, flushing bright red as soon as she'd realized her mistake.

"Y-you're late,"

She'd regretted saying that out, definitely. If she could have turned back time, she would have zipped her mouth shut and just fell into steps behind him. Just anything but speaking, making eye contact or accidentally brushing against each other's hands. She couldn't even bring herself to look him in the eye anymore. It was just... plain awkward.

He paused in his steps and regarded her for awhile as she felt his ochre eye roamed her bare skin with the megawatt smile of his, making her feeling slightly fidgety and self-conscious all of a sudden. He chuckled lightly, in that easy-going manner of his and for moment there, she found herself entranced by that sweet melody of his chuckle.

"You... need me to carry that for you?" She sensed a smile lingering at the end of his question, though, refusing to look up at him as she knew that if she were to look up into his dark, amber eyes, she'd probably lose it. He grabbed her baggage in a swift movement without her consent, causing her to crease her brow irritably, glaring up at him, huffing angrily. And for the first time their eyes met. She couldn't help but notice how light his ochre eyes were that day, and how the tiny speckles in them had an array of colors, like the rainbow. The intelligent glint in his eyes seemed to sparkle brightly back at her, her reflection shining back at her. "I'll take your silence as a 'yes' then, Rima-chan," And she was brought back to reality with the bright flash of red spreading across her cheeks.

"Fine," she muttered stubbornly, crossing her arms with a small pout, his chuckle following tightly behind her. Though he'd managed to break part of the ice, it wasn't entirely gone. The embarrassment, the refusal, the denial, all of it was still there, sitting in the space between both of them, just waiting to be called upon.

The silence was just unbearable.

Deafening in a way, that it just felt plain hollow and empty, only increasing as their hasty footsteps hit the cold, concrete ground. Heart beats were rising, the temperature seemed to have flown to a two hundred degrees and most of all the tension was just growing between them, but only the silence stood still and deathly, like the unmoving air. Untouched and chaste.

"How was your weekend?" His flowing voice penetrated through the walls of her mind, as she refrained herself from showing the startled expression she was wearing, rearranging her face into a cool, calm mask. She'd never imagined him to be the kind who went for small talks. Probably he'd found it uncomfortable himself to finally make a sound to end the silence they'd started in the first place.

"Fine," she murmured half-heartedly. Her weekends were all a bore, it was as if she was waiting for him to pop up ninety-percent of the time to humor her, she was still adjusting to the absence of his presence, but she wouldn't go as far as to say that she'd actually missed him over the weekends. No way. Even if she was ever going that far ahead to say that, she would never say it to his face anyway. "Are we there yet? I think I can have a heat stroke just by being out here,"

"Just a little more, Rima-chan, we're nearly there," he forced a smile at her, his forehead coated with the shiny, sheen layer of sweat with tiny water droplets dripping off from his chin. His Charas, as well as her own, shun away from the blazing heat and into the shade of their bearers' shadow. Sometimes, she'd found herself wishing to be Guardian Character, just for their miniature size and the fact that could fly slash float whatever they called it, compacting themself away from the dreaded heat.

She groaned exasperatedly, not saying anything much as she followed tightly behind him with heavy steps, trudging forward. And this was another reason for her to hate summer more than any other season. She lowered her head onto the ground, golden curls falling beside her, cursing the horrid heat under her breath. Thinking she could shy away from the heat by looking down onto the ground, she was terribly wrong, the heat rays were literally radiated back right at her face.

Desperately, she lifted her head up enough to catch the slim, lean figure before her, his persian indigo hair whisking around side to side with every step he took. His back was always so... so... very tempting to lean onto. If only she could just—

"We're here,"

She stumbled on halting in her step, nearly tripping as she held her head up in the air. And before she could even groan, she caught her breath in mesmerization and soon regained her poise.

"What. The. Hell." She blinked, shoulders sagging, mouth hanging ajar like a fish as her golden eyes tried to register the magnificent mansion into her brain. Snapping her mouth shut, she turned towards him, glowering up at him, lips twisting into a tight frown, "You've never told me you lived in a mansion before..."

"You've never asked—"

"Nagihiko-sama!" cried a frail-sounding voice with belonged to the old lady which had appeared from the gates of the traditional Japanese mansion, snowy-white hair was restrained up into a low bun as her wrinkled, wizened face carried a rather relieved expression.

Nagihiko merely nodded with a small smile of his own, turning towards the petite blonde as the old lady's old, brown eyes landed onto her for the first time, eyes narrowing before widening upon recognition, her lips crumpled into a benign smile. Was she a relative of Nagihiko or something?

"Rima-chan, this is our Baaya-san, she's the one who keeps our house in a mint condition," introduced the young master of the Fujisaki household as she nodded with an air of pride and respect, the friendly smile still painted on her wrinkled lips.

"And you must be Mashiro-san, we've been expecting you," Rima didn't bothered to force a smile, as it'll probably look unnatural and fake as it is, and merely nodded at the old lady. Baaya turned to Nagihiko courteously, "Mistress have been waiting for your arrival, Nagihiko-sama,"

Inclining his head politely at the housekeeper, he turned towards her, a bright smile curling on his lips, "Let's enter, shall we?" Trying to look aloof like always, she suppressed the familiar warmth from reaching her cheeks at the sight of his heartwarming smile and shrugged indifferently as her clown chara giggled her trademark giggle beside her ear, earning a glare from her bearer.

---

Rima had to admit that she was rather impressed by the architecture and the antiques the old mansion (she heard it was built a hundred years ago) had on display, it was like walking through a museum filled with old, priceless antique. And even though she wasn't an 'artsy' person she was still captivated by the many beautiful Japanese calligraphy and paintings hung over the walls of the mansion. So far, she was enjoying herself at the Fujisaki Mansion. At least its way better than that creepy old house of hers she had for a home and that was a great change, for a start.

"Do you want to watch my dance practice, Rima-chan?"

She'd nearly jumped out of her wits when his smooth, velvet voice penetrated through the air and made a terrible mistake by looking up into those amber orbs of his, flushing slightly. Gosh, was she turning more and more like Amu.

"I-Idiot, don't scare me like that," He looked amused for a split second, smiling a sly grin down at her which sort of made her feel more uncomfortable, as she knew he was up to something with that look of his, that extremely suspicious grin he wore whenever he was going to start teasing her.

"Hm? But I was here the whole entire time, Rima-chan," He was still smiling serenely at her, eyes looking perpetually close with that air of slyness and deviousness. She turned slightly redder than before, chewing on her lips nervously. Was he trying to tell her that he'd seen how she'd reacted at every time she came upon something new and that how she'd ogle, staring up at all those magnificent works like a five-year old who had just entered a candy shop with that earnest look in the eye.

"Anyway, I'll just take you'll be coming for my practice, then," She glared up at him, looking slightly flustered and still a little red in the face.

"But I didn't even agre—"

"Hm, I think It's time I should show you to my room, so you can put all those stuff down," He cut her off with a thoughtful look. Rima was about to hit him back with a better retort, but was cut off once again upon opening her mouth. Were her ears playing tricks on her or something?

"Wait, _your_ room? Isn't this mansion big enough to hold at least two guest rooms?" She prompted, looking dubious, creasing her brows as she eyed the boy beside her suspiciously, hopeful that it was her ears indeed playing pranks on her, but to no avail...

"Yeah, well, sadly they're still under construction and re-decoration since a few months back. I guess it's inevitable that we have to share rooms again, unfortunately," She couldn't help but feel slightly nausea at the fact that he had the same smile on the whole time while explaining the whole situation with the guest rooms. She couldn't help but feel that all these were planned before hand.

"You seem happy of it," she pointed out flatly, but his smile didn't falter one bit.

"No, I'm not,"

"Then why are you still smiling, Newton?"

"Just to piss you off," And at that, she felt her eyes gave a familiar, noticeable twitch once more.

"You're a jerk, you know that?"

"Uh-huh,"

He halted abruptly in his steps as she stumbled on her steps, nearly bumping into him. Casting a deep, mellow chuckle, he slid the shoji door open with his long, slender fingers in a graceful movement, revealing a rather simple room. A room with less antiques, paintings and decoration, and filled with the daily necessities which an average teenage require except for the fact that it was nearly as big as the living room she had back in the Mashiro Estate.

"I see you still have your guardian capes, especially Nadeshiko's one." She remarked bluntly, feeling rather contented that she'd finally managed to embarrass him after the whole ordeal. Forcing a dry chuckle at her, with his cheeks painted with slight pink, he settled her things down by his closet.

"W-well, I'm just going —he gulps deeply— change now, um, I'll see you later at the practice room," With that, he shoved her out into the hallway outside his room, sliding the shoji doors close and locking it after which.

Rima stared blankly into the long, never-ending hallway, looking slightly perturbed.

"And where is the practice room again?"

_~A Sleepover~_

After spending what seemed like an eternity, she was glad she had finally found her way to the practice room with the help of the housekeeper of the Fujisaki household of course. Without the kind old lady's help, she'd probably be still wandering around the winding hallways aimlessly.

And so, here she was, kneeling before (im)patiently before the two elders of the household, minus Nagihiko's father as he was said to be out of country for a performance. She lifted her head up at the matriarch of the family, feeling slightly intimidated by her cold, aloof outer-character which Amu had mentioned before back then, but why of course, she'd recently experienced her inner-character awhile back.

She'd literally glomped her upon meeting her for the first time, during the tea ceremony they had earlier. Turned out, she was slightly infatuated with her curls and how cute she'd looked. Urgh, for once she's glad that was over.

Her bright honey-golden eyes caught the simple action of the matriarch, leaning towards the housekeeper as they spoke in a hushed tone. All that she'd managed to catch were 'Nagihiko' and 'late'. And as if on cue, the paper doors slid open.

She'd nearly laughed out loud.

There he was, with his long dark, violet hair held up with a delicate piece of red ribbon, dressed in an elegant purple kimono which brought out the striking orange of his eyes. He casted a death glare in her direction which clearly translated to 'if you ever let this out, I'll never let you away with this.' But of course, she ignored his glare and sniggered when he was within an ear-shot.

"Shut. Up." he muttered between clenched teeth. She shrugged carelessly with a teasing demeanor.

"You invited me to watch, doofus." She muttered back as he pretended not to have heard what she'd just said.

"Nagihiko-san, you're finally here, let's start your practice now, shall we?" came the steely voice of the matriarch as the heir of the Fujisaki household tensed up, bowing politely at his mother.

"Yes, mother."

And with that, she sat herself back, still in kneeling position as she watched the performance before her, and she had to admit that he was a really great dancer. Every time she'd seen him perform, which was quite rare actually, it never failed to make her catch her breath.

His movements were fluid and graceful, long fingers fiddling about with the traditional Japanese fan as both his mind and body moved with the rhythm. To her, it was probably a flawless performance, but most probably for him and his mother, there could be a few flaws which she'd failed to pick.

She glanced up at him, taking in what she'd saw at that point of time. He'd look really happy, blissful in a way when he danced, just like when he played with the orange, basketball. He had that look on his face of sheer happiness. She'd never seen his eyes sparkled so brightly before or how his smile reached all the way to his eyes as he danced to the beat and it made her wonder how great was dancing that it made him feel that way. But what she did knew at that very minute was, by watching him smile with such happiness, it made her feel equally warm and oozy inside. And that she could very well, finally conclude that doubt she had in herself from the very beginning she'd seen him that morning...

That she'd missed him badly, herself.

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**A/N:** **Constructive Criticism is welcomed; spot any mistakes? Let me know by dropping a review or PM and I'll see to it immediately. As you all know, I've stated that A Sleepover will be under major editing, and as pathetic as I am, I only managed to edit chapter 1. God, I think I might need some help of a beta-reader or something. I'd probably have to call up my friend again -sighs. Oh, and I've finally managed to come up with a final, accurate conclusion to the amount of chapters for A Sleepover. It might be ending in about six to seven chapters or so, but look on the brighter side, A Sleepover is out of hibernation and will be updated weekly. I promise.  
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**I hope you'll tag along till the very end. —D.**


	11. Slowing Down Time

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara.**

**Pairings: Nagihiko X Rima**

**Ratings: T**

**A/N: Greetings everyone. I'm not dead, nor have I forgotten this story. I'm alive and breathing still. I know it had been three months or maybe more since the last update, and I apologize. There had been many reviews and pms, for me to revive this story. And if I'd not managed to reply to your pm or review. I guess that would be another 'sorry' from me. I'd been really busy lately. My schedule for school is getting worse to crazy. So yeah, I've been trying my best to write out the last of the chapters for this particular story and I'm glad I'm left with two more. Yeah, so please enjoy the next chapter.**

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**A Sleepover**

_(can it possibly change their lives)_

Slowing Down Time

"Well, that was a great dance back there, Nadeshiko..."

Rima had made sure she'd emphasized on Nagihiko's stage name. She'd known from the start that it irritated him whenever she called him by that name and the sudden twitch in his all-so graceful movements, indicated his discomfort as she smirked, fully knowing she had hit the right string. Giggling silently to herself, she reclined her back against the comfy chair she was sitting on, stretching out her legs casually as she tried to position in a nonchalant manner.

And here they were.

In the kitchen of the Fujisaki Mansion.

At two a.m. The best time of the day. Not.

"Are you sure there's ice-cream in there?" she urged, rolling her eyes in the darkness, sighing slightly as she rocked herself to and fro in her seat, taking pleasure on making the squeaky noises whenever she leaned back against the chair which she had found out during dinner, annoyed a certain Fujisaki greatly. The only source of light came from the opening of the refrigerator door where the Fujisaki heir stood, rummaging through the contents of the white box as orange lights spewed out carelessly.

"Uh... will milk and cookies be fine with you? We ran out of ice-cream..." She paused momentarily, clicking her tongue with slight irritation, suppressing the urge to sigh in exasperation as she lifted her head up at him. And she'd thought that being an heir and living in a mansion would mean a plentiful supply of ice-cream at any point of time. Apparently, she was proved wrong.

With the orange fluorescent light from the refrigerator streaming down onto his features, lighting them up dimly with a small smile pinned up nicely on the edges of his lips, he somehow looked... angelic in a way she could not explain. The familiar tinge of heat was back and a small blush crept up to her cheeks, and for once she was glad that it was pitch black out here, and he probably wouldn't notice her blush.

Gulping deeply as she prayed hard that it wouldn't come out as a stutter, she replied in her usual blunt tone, "Whatever." And for a moment there she could have sworn she'd seen the ficklest sight of a frown but had decided to dismiss it as a figment of her imagination, moreover she was probably feeling the effects of fatigue seemingly that it was two in the morning.

"Well then," he paused, drawing out the carton of milk with a jar of cookies, a serene smile painted on his still features, "I'll just fix us some snacks." The burning sensation of her cheeks made a swift return at the sight of his smile once again. God, can't he ever stop smiling. Can't he tell that his smile was blinding her and that it was burning her on the inside?

Mumbling incoherently, a little grumpily, she averted her eyes away from him as she faced the darkness beside her. Another smile, and another skip of a heartbeat, she was absolutely sure she was going to lose it if there would ever be another time. She hated him so much for having that effect on her. Gees, his smile could light up a whole town if he'd wanted to. He could even light up the whole world.

Her ears perked up at the gurgles made by the milk when it hit the glass bottom of the glass as she tried to suppress the churning of her stomach, screaming for the milk and cookies. Gosh, she could just taste the sweet, crumbling sensation of the chocolate-chip cookies melting in her mouth, overflowing her taste buds as she doused herself glass after glass of milk, her stomach cooling with delight.

A melodious chuckle penetrated through her thoughts, sending a pleasing shiver down her spine as her ears yearned for its smooth, calming edge. She whipped her head in his direction, casting him a questioning glance. She could tell by the dim light showering onto his face that he was at least still smiling briefly.

"You were drooling."

Her eyes snapped open widely and they soon narrowed down onto him as she pin-pointed his foot beneath the wooden, Victorian table, glowering darkly in his direction. He chuckled once more, in that mellow tune of his as she furrowed her brows, scowling in the darkness and heaved her foot up before stomping hard onto the... Ground?

"You missed, Rima-chan." he smiled teasingly. Letting out a huff, she slumped into her seat grumpily, folding her arms across her chest. "Here's what you've been drooling over the table top for," The scrapings of the glass against the table were heard as the sweet aroma of chocolate-chip cookies filled her lungs. "I hope you enjoy it."

Casting him one last scowl, she'd held herself back as she very nearly buried her face into the plate.

"So... you haven't really told me why you had decided to follow me on a midnight misadventure." She reclined her back against her chair, feeling the after-effects of a good meal as a sleepy sensation washed over her entire being. However despite all that, an evident blush made its appearance on her cheeks.

"I did not..." she trailed off, as she wished there was still milk left, to cool down the burning sensation of her cheeks. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't sleep in a room which smelt so much like that intoxicating scent of cherry blossom, or how his back called out to her sweetly, tempting her to wrap her arms around him, soaking herself in his warmth once and for all. "I just couldn't sleep, just like you."

He chuckled lightly, and she knew almost instantly by the tone of it that he was at least amused. And for some reason, she regretted for saying that out loud, bracing herself for one of his witty, remark. She waited silently, biting her tongue, thinking of a clever come-back before hand. But it never came. All that was left between them was a long, unwavering silence, with the only sound being his clear, calm breathing.

The silence wasn't unbearable for the first time of the day and it wasn't any unlike silence she'd been through before. It wasn't awkward nor was it dead and lifeless. It gave out a more soothing sensation which is set by only two calm breathings in unison and it was as simple as that. They didn't need words to show that they were enjoying each other company with the silence lingering between them.

She couldn't help but closing her eyes peacefully, albeit sleepily at the same time and for the first time, she wondered if he'd fallen asleep himself. After what seemed like forever, she lifted her eyelids with deliberate slowness, as her vision began to focus on him. She couldn't help but feel slightly amused that, he, himself had his eyes closed too, his head leaning against his clenched fist.

She took her time to study his face, dimly-lit by the refrigerator door and she realized that it had been a very long time since she'd last observed him with such scrutiny, not like she'd done this frequently, of course. Her golden, aurulent eyes trailed his closed eyes which she knew that beneath it, held orbs of a beautiful shade of ochre, which she never knew had existed before. Her melichrous eyes went down to his cheeks— pale and fair, that of a girl— suddenly having an urge to reach out to feel the softness and tenderness of it.

She looked a little lower— his high, articulated nose-bridge. And finally, she reached his lips— pink and full, and soft as well...

She flushed, her heart skipping a beat as the images of that night flashed across her eyes.

"A penny for your thought." She jumped at the sound of his deep, mellow voice, growing slightly redder than before.

"N-nothing." He frowned. Yes, he'd definitely frowned this time round with his knitted brows and the dropping of the edges of his lips.

"You're thinking, and I know it, tell me," She could tell he was bothered by it as he urged her further. Sighing deeply, he inched closer towards her, pulling in his chair, "please...?'" he asked earnestly, the sincerity in his voice was overbearing as she steered her eyes away from his intense gaze, the fear of the ordeal that night replaying in her mind again.

"Even though you're here with me, your eyes are still avoiding me." He got up, rather abruptly from his seat, leaning his frame towards her as he held her firmly by her shoulders. "Look at me, Rima-chan. Look at me carefully." She craned her head towards him flinchingly, peaking at him through her eye lids meekly.

Gold met ochre. And gold melted instantly.

Despite the similarities between the two colors, there were obvious differences between the two of them. And probably for the first time, she noticed the slight hurt in them. The worry, the hesitation... and the usual determination... It felt like she was staring down into deepest depths his soul. A side which she'd never seen before.

"I..." she began breathily, loosing herself in the deep, dark amber pools of his eyes, the sound of her thunderous heart beating, drumming against her ears. Inhaling deeply, "That night... did you... did you... actually..." she paused and everything seemed to slow down at that very second. And for that very second, she hesitated. She'd very nearly wanted to pull herself back from all these.

His uncanny ochre eyes... which never failed to draw her in every time she looked deeply into them, so intense and unwavering. Perhaps it was probably the strong determination in them which made her reflect on herself, on the whole, and it just made her feel unworthy with the thought of rejection and everything come pouring over her.

"Never mind," She averted her eyes from him and the connection between them was lost, just like that, in a blink of an eye. She got up from her seat, swaggering slightly as she got on her feet in feign of sleepiness. "I'm tired; I think I'm going back to bed." And she slid the shoji door open as she took a step in the enveloping darkness outside, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

_Don't look back, don't look back, don't you dare look back and regret it. _

She'd told herself repeatedly as she took steps, which brought her further and further away from him as if she were took look over her shoulder, and find herself staring into whatever expression which was written on his face— be it, sad, shock or anger— she'll probably lose herself for sure.

* * *

**A/N:** **Constructive Criticism is welcomed; spot any mistakes? Let me know by dropping a review or PM and I'll see to it immediately. Yeah, I know I'd said I was going to quit fanfiction and everything, but I just couldn't really quit without regretting to at least end my first multi-chaptered story, moreover I'd only left a few more chapters and it would end for good. And when that day comes, I'll quit and come back when I'm free. Probably during the Novembers, yeah. **

**I appreciate your patience for waiting and reading this story. I know it's hard for all of you, readers. It is hard for me too, but nonetheless, I'm grateful for all of this and I hope you would carry on reading till the end. **


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